What is Canfield VISIA and how does it work?
VISIA is a standardized facial photography and complexion-analysis system. It captures several views under controlled lighting, then uses software to display visible and subsurface skin features for consultation and consistent documentation.
What skin features can VISIA show?
Depending on the installed software, VISIA may highlight spots, wrinkles, texture, pores, UV spots, brown spots, red areas and porphyrin fluorescence. These views help organize a conversation about your skin; they do not identify the medical cause of a finding.
Is a VISIA scan a diagnosis or medical test?
No. VISIA is an imaging and communication tool, not a diagnostic test, cancer screening examination or substitute for medical history, examination or dermoscopy. Suspicious, changing or symptomatic areas require appropriate clinical assessment.
What happens during the appointment?
You will be seated at the system with your hair secured away from your face. Glasses and reflective jewelry are removed, and a black drape may be placed around your shoulders. You rest your chin and forehead on positioning supports while several views and brief flushes are captured. Appointment length varies.
How should I prepare for VISIA imaging?
Arrive with clean, dry skin whenever possible. Remove makeup, moisturizer, sunscreen, facial oils, self-tanner and other residue as directed, and allow reactive redness to settle before imaging. Tell your practitioner about recent procedures or anything that could temporarily change your skin's appearance.
Does VISIA imaging hurt or treat the skin?
VISIA imaging is non-invasive and does not deliver a cosmetic treatment. You may notice bright flushes and gentle contact at the chin and forehead supports. Tell your practitioner before or during imaging if you have light sensitivity, discomfort or difficulty maintaining the position.
What do the numbers and percentiles mean?
A percentile compares the selected feature with a software-configured reference group; it is not a percentage of damage or a severity diagnosis. Feature counts and other scores depend on the selected view, mask and software configuration, so your practitioner will explain them in context.
Can VISIA images be compared over time?
Yes, when the sessions are captured under comparable conditions. Preparation, lighting, pose, facial expression, positioning, masks and the selected baseline can all affect the result. Small score changes do not necessarily represent a meaningful skin change.
How are my images and privacy protected?
Valley Medical confirms the purpose and consent for imaging and stores or shares images only through approved clinic workflows. Promotional, teaching, research, website or social-media use requires the appropriate separate authorization. You may ask how your images will be used before capture.
Can VISIA choose a treatment or predict my result?
No. VISIA can support a consultation, but treatment recommendations still depend on your goals, history, examination, suitability, risks, alternatives and clinical judgment. Any simulation is an illustration rather than a promise or prediction of outcome.
What happens if an image shows a concerning area?
Your practitioner will avoid diagnosing the area from VISIA alone. A suspicious, changing, symptomatic or out-of-scope finding may pause cosmetic recommendations and lead to assessment by the responsible clinician or referral to an appropriate medical provider.
What types of lighting does VISIA use?
VISIA may use standard, cross-polarized and ultraviolet lighting, along with software views such as RBX. Each mode highlights different surface or colour information. Thee available views depend on Valley Medical's installed system and software configuration.
What are UV spots and porphyrins?
UV spots are software-highlighted patterns associated with subsurface epidermal melanin under ultraviolet imaging. Porphyrins are areas of UV fluorescence associated with bacterial excretions in pores. Neither view is a diagnosis on its own.
Why must preparation and positioning be repeated each time?
Makeup, skincare residue, shine, hair, lighting, posture and facial expression can change what the camera or software detects. Repeating the same preparation and position makes follow-up images more comparable and helps reduce misleading differences.
Can hair, eyelashes or facial hair affect the analysis?
Yes. Hair, eyelashes, beard stubble, reflective areas and unstable image edges can be highlighted as if they were skin features. Your practitioner reviews the analysis masks and excludes artifacts when possible before discussing the results.
When might imaging be postponed or repeated?
Imaging may be deferred when consent or standardization is unclear, or when discomfort, open skin, infection concern or positioning difficulty makes contact capture inappropriate. A session may be repeated if motion, blinking, glare, expression, exposure or alignment affects quality.
Can I receive or share my VISIA images?
Ask Valley Medical about access and release options. Images are exported, printed or shared only through approved clinic workflows for the authorized purpose, with the recipient and content checked before release. Personal screen photographs are not part of the approved workflow.
How often should VISIA imaging be repeated?
Repeat imaging is most useful when the interval and preparation support a meaningful comparison. Timing depends on the consultation purpose, treatment or skincare plan and your practitioner's recommendations; more frequent imaging does not automatically provide more useful information.
Please note: This handout provides general information and does not replace an individualized medical assessment. VISIA findings and any related recommendations are interpreted by an authorized Valley Medical practitioner.