Skin Bioelectrical Impedance as a Diagnostic Tool in Dermatology: A Literature Review of Current and Emerging Applications

Skin bioelectrical impedance and especially electrical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) have become a non-invasive, objective technique with the ability to characterize skin tissue at cellular and structural levels. The literature review uses a narrative synthesis to critically analyze the available evidence on four thematic areas, namely 1) the diagnosis of skin cancer and lesions, 2) the characterization of inflammatory skin diseases, 3) wound healing, and 4) the characterization of skin barrier integrity and hydration. Cross-domain comparison indicates that there are general biophysical effects across all applications, but with varying degrees of clinical validation. The main issues of concern are a critical lack of research standardization procedures, population heterogeneity of study groups, and the deployment of EIS in real-life clinical practices alongside artificial intelligence (AI)-related algorithms. The review ends with a set of research priorities that can be used to promote the translation of an adjunct diagnostic tool toward broader clinical validation across dermatological applications.