Patent Publication Number: US-2018035942-A1

Title: Apparatus for providing skin-aging information and method thereof

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION 
     This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 10-2016-0099075, filed on Aug. 3, 2016 in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Field 
     Apparatuses and methods consistent with exemplary embodiments relate to providing skin-aging information. 
     2. Description of the Related Art 
     As the beauty industry grows, there have been increased needs for skin care and research on skin. 
     Human skin ages over time in a similar manner to other organs in a human body. Such a natural aging process is referred to as intrinsic aging. In addition, the skin is directly affected by an external environment unlike other organs in the human body, and thus experiences aging associated with the environment. A major environmental factor causing skin aging is sunlight, and skin aging caused by sunlight (i.e., photo aging) is accumulated over time like intrinsic aging. 
     Generally, skin aging or skin elasticity is measured by measuring the degree of skin wrinkling with the naked eye, however since this requires a determination of an operator, accuracy of the measurement is reduced. 
     SUMMARY 
     One or more exemplary embodiments provide an apparatus and a method for providing skin-aging information based on a skin spectrum. 
     According to an aspect of an exemplary embodiment, there is provided an apparatus for providing skin-aging information including: a spectrum obtainer configured to obtain a skin spectrum of a user; and a processor configured to extract information of at least one of collagen content, elastin content, and keratin content from the obtained skin spectrum and generate skin-aging information of the user based on the extracted information. 
     The skin spectrum may be a near-infrared (NIR) absorption spectrum of skin. 
     The processor may extract the information through a regression analysis using a pure spectrum of each of collagen, elastin, and keratin. 
     The processor may extract the information based on a skin spectrum-body composition relation model. 
     The skin spectrum-body composition relation model may be generated through machine learning based on skin spectrum training data that contains collagen content data, elastin content data, and keratin content data as target data. 
     The skin-aging information may include at least one of a type of skin aging, a degree of skin aging, and a degree of skin elasticity. 
     The processor may determine a degree of intrinsic aging of the user based on the collagen content and the elastin content. 
     The processor may determine the degree of intrinsic aging based on a first relation table indicating a relationship of the degree of intrinsic aging and a difference between the collagen content and the elastin content. 
     The processor may determine a degree of photo aging based on the keratin content. 
     The processor may determine the degree of photo aging based on a second relation table indicating a relationship of the keratin content and the degree of photo aging. 
     According to an aspect of another exemplary embodiment, there is provided a method of providing skin-aging information including: obtaining a skin spectrum of a user; extracting information of at least one of collagen content, elastin content, and keratin content from the obtained skin spectrum; and generating skin-aging information of the user based on the extracted information. 
     The skin spectrum may be a NIR absorption spectrum about a skin. 
     The extracting may include extracting the information through regression analysis using a pure spectrum of each of collagen, elastin, and keratin. 
     The extracting may include extracting the information based on a skin spectrum-body composition relation model. 
     The skin-aging information may include at least one of a type of skin aging, a degree of skin aging, and a degree of skin elasticity. 
     The generating the skin-aging information may include determining a degree of intrinsic aging of the user based on the collagen content the elastin content, and a first relation table indicating a relationship of the degree of intrinsic aging and a difference between the collagen content and the elastin content. 
     The generating the skin-aging information may include determining a degree of photo aging based on the keratin content and a second relation table indicating a relationship of the keratin content and the degree of photo aging. 
     According to an aspect of another exemplary embodiment, there is provided an apparatus for providing skin-aging information including: a light source configured to emit light toward skin of a user; a spectroscope configured to detect the light reflected or scattered from the skin and obtain a skin spectrum from the detected light; and a processor configured to extract information of at least one of collagen content, elastin content, and keratin content from the skin spectrum and generate skin-aging information of the user based on the extracted information. 
     The light emitted from the light source is near-infrared (NIR) light. 
     The processor may determine a degree of intrinsic aging of the user based on the collagen content and the elastin content, and determine a degree of photo aging based on the keratin content. 
     The apparatus may further include an interval adjuster configured to adjust an interval between a skin incident position at which the emitted light is incident on the skin and a skin scattering position at which the incident light is reflected or scattered from the skin. 
     The interval adjuster may adjust at least one of a position of the light source and a position of the spectroscope such that a distance that the light travels through the skin is identical to a predetermined reference value. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The above and/or other aspects will be more apparent by describing certain exemplary embodiments, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: 
         FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for providing skin-aging information according to an exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for providing skin-aging information according to another exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for providing skin-aging information according to another exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 4  is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for providing skin-aging information according to another exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 5A  is a diagram illustrating a method of adjusting an interval between a skin incident position and a skin scattering position according to an exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 5B  is a diagram illustrating a method of adjusting an interval between a skin incident position and a skin scattering position according to another exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 6  is a flow chart showing a method of providing skin-aging information according to an exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 7  is a flow chart showing a method of providing skin-aging information according to another exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 8  is a flow chart showing a method of providing skin-aging information according to another exemplary embodiment. 
         FIG. 9  is a detailed flow chart showing operation S 810  of  FIG. 8  in which an interval between a skin incident position and a skin scattering position is adjusted. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Exemplary embodiments are described in greater detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     In the following description, like drawing reference numerals are used for like elements, even in different drawings. The matters defined in the description, such as detailed construction and elements, are provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of the exemplary embodiments. However, it is apparent that the exemplary embodiments can be practiced without those specifically defined matters. Also, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail since they would obscure the description with unnecessary detail. 
     Expressions such as “at least one of,” when preceding a list of elements, modify the entire list of elements and do not modify the individual elements of the list. 
       FIG. 1  is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for providing skin-aging information  100  according to an exemplary embodiment. The apparatus  100  may generate skin-aging information of a user based on a skin spectrum of the user and provides the user with the generated skin-aging information. The apparatus  100  may be implemented with a software module, or may be manufactured in the form of a hardware chip to be mounted on an electronic device. The electronic device may include a mobile phone, a smart phone, a tablet PC, a notebook computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable multimedia player (PMP), a navigation system, an MP3 player, a digital camera, a wearable device, and the like. However, the electronic device is not limited thereto, and may include a variety of devices. 
     Referring to  FIG. 1 , the apparatus for providing skin-aging information  100  may include a spectrum obtainer  110  and a processor  120 . 
     The spectrum obtainer  110  may obtain a skin spectrum of the user. In this case, the skin spectrum may be a near-infrared (NIR) absorption spectrum of skin that is obtained by measuring NIR emitted toward the skin of the user. However, the skin spectrum is not limited thereto, and may be a NIR transmittance spectrum of skin or NIR reflectance spectrum of a skin. 
     According to an exemplary embodiment, the spectrum obtainer  110  may receive skin spectrum information of the user from an external device by performing communication with the external device. For example, the spectrum obtainer  110  may receive the skin spectrum information of the user from the external device through communication such as Bluetooth communication, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication, Near Field Communication (NFC) communication, wireless local area network (WLAN) communication, Zigbee communication, Infrared Data Association (IrDA) communication, Wi-Fi Direct (WFD) communication, ultra-wideband (UWB) communication, Ant+ communication, WIFI communication, and Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) communication. However, this is only an example, and the communication is not limited thereto. 
     The external device may include a mobile device, a smart phone, a tablet PC, a notebook computer, a PDA, a PMP, a navigation system, an MP3 player, a digital camera, and a wearble device. However, the external device is not limited thereto, and may include various devices which may store skin spectrum information of the user. 
     The processor  120  may extract content information of body components that include collagen, elastin, and keratin from the skin spectrum. 
     According to an exemplary embodiment, the processor  120  may extract content information of each body component from the skin spectrum through regression analysis. For example, the processor  120  may resolve the skin spectrum into individual component spectrums and extract the content information of each body component from the resolved individual component spectrums through regression analysis using a pure spectrum of each body component. 
     According to another exemplary embodiment, the processor  120  may extract content information of each body component based on a skin spectrum-body composition relation model. The skin spectrum-body composition relation model may use a relationship between the skin spectrum and content of each body component which is defined in the model. The skin spectrum-body composition relation model may be constructed by machine learning in which skin spectrum data for training is an input and content data of each body component (e.g., collagen content data, elastin content data, and keratin content data) corresponding to the skin-spectrum data for training is a target. 
     A machine learning algorithm may be one of a Neural Network, a Decision Tree, a Genetic Algorithm, Genetic Programming, K-Nearest Neighbor, a Radial Basis Function Network, a Random Forest, a Support Vector Machine, and deep-learning. 
     The processor  120  may generate skin-aging information of the user based on the extracted content information of each body component. For example, the skin-aging information may include a type of skin aging (e.g., intrinsic aging or photo aging), a degree of skin aging, and a degree of skin elasticity. 
     Amounts of collagen, elastin, and keratin contained in the skin affect elasticity and aging of the skin. Collagen content and elastin content are associated with intrinsic aging, and keratin content is associated with photo aging. Specifically, in the case of intrinsic aging, elastin is reduced at a higher rate compared to collagen so that a value of the amount of collagen minus the amount of elastin tends to change from a positive value to a negative value with aging. In the case of photo aging, an epidermis gets thicker and the amount of keratin in the epidermis increases. 
     Accordingly, the processor  120  may determine the degree of intrinsic aging based on collagen content information and elastin content information, and may determine the degree of photo aging based on keratin content information. In this case, the processor  120  may use a relation table (hereinafter, referred to as a first relation table) in which a relationship of the degree of intrinsic aging and a difference between collagen content and elastin content in skin is defined and a relation table (hereinafter, a second relation table) in which a relationship of keratin content in skin and photo aging is defined. The first and second relation tables may be experimentally derived. 
     In addition, the processor  120  may calculate a combined degree of aging combining intrinsic aging and photo aging based on the degree of intrinsic aging and the degree of photo aging, and may determine a degree of skin elasticity based on the calculated combined degree of aging. In this case, the processor  120  may use a relation table (hereinafter, a third relation table) in which a relationship of a combined degree of aging and a degree of skin elasticity is defined. The third relation table may be experimentally derived. 
       FIG. 2  is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for providing skin-aging information according to another exemplary embodiment. 
     Referring to  FIG. 2 , an apparatus for providing skin-aging information  200  may selectively include an input unit (e.g., input interface)  210 , a storage  220 , and an output unit (output interface)  230  in addition to the components of the apparatus for providing skin-aging information  100  shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     The input unit  210  may receive various manipulation signals from the user. According to an exemplary embodiment, the input unit  210  may include a key pad, a dome switch, a touch pad (resistive type/capacitive type), a jog wheel, a jog switch, and a hardware button. In particular, a touch pad having a mutually layered structure with a display may be referred to as a touch screen. 
     The storage  220  may store programs or instructions for operating the apparatus for providing skin-aging information  200 , and may store input/output data. In addition, the storage  220  may store the skin spectrum-body composition relation model and the first to third relation tables, which are previously constructed. In this case, as described above with reference to  FIG. 1 , the skin spectrum-body composition relation model may be constructed by machine learning in which skin spectrum data for training is input and content data of each body component (for example, collagen content data, elastin content data, and keratin content data) corresponding to the skin-spectrum data for training is a target. The first to third relation tables may be experimentally derived. 
     The storage  220  may include a flash memory type memory, a hard disk type memory, a multimedia card micro type memory, a card type memory (for example, secure digital (SD) or extreme digital (XD) memory), random access memory (RAM), static RAM (SRAM), read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), programmable ROM (PROM), a magnetic memory, a magnetic disk, and an optical disk. In addition, the apparatus for providing skin-aging information  200  may operate an external storage medium, such as a web storage, which serves as the storage  220  on the Internet. 
     The output unit  230  may output skin-aging information of the user. According to an exemplary embodiment, the output unit  230  may output the skin-aging information in at least one of an audible manner, a visual manner, and a tactile manner. For example, the output unit  230  may output an estimated result of weight by using voice, a text, and a vibration. To this end, the output unit  230  may include a display, a speaker, and a vibrator. 
       FIG. 3  is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for providing skin-aging information according to another exemplary embodiment. 
     Referring to  FIG. 3 , an apparatus for providing skin-aging information  300  may include a light source  310 , a spectroscope  320 , and a processor  330 . The spectrum obtainer  110  illustrated in  FIGS. 1 and 2  may be implemented by the spectroscope  320 , or the combination of the light source  310  and the spectroscope  320 . 
     The light source  310  may emit light toward the skin of a user. The light emitted from the light source  110  may be NIR in a band of 1500 nm to 1900 nm or 2000 nm to 2400 nm. According to an exemplary embodiment, the light source  110  may include a light emitting diode (LED) or a laser diode. 
     The spectroscope  320  may measure a skin spectrum by detecting scattered light that is reflected from the skin of the user. To this end, the spectroscope  320  may include a photo detector  321 . According to an exemplary embodiment, the photo detector  321  may include a photo diode, a photo transistor (PTr), or a charge-couple device (CCD) to detect the scattered light reflected from the skin of the user. 
     The skin spectrum measured by the spectroscope  320  may be a skin absorption spectrum. However, the skin spectrum is not limited thereto, and may be a skin transmittance spectrum or a skin reflectance spectrum. 
     In  FIG. 3 , the light source  310  and the spectroscope  320  are illustrated as separate elements. However, the present exemplary embodiment is not limited thereto, and the light source  310  may be integrated into the spectroscope  320 . 
     The processor  330  may extract content information of body components including collagen, elastin, and keratin from the skin spectrum. 
     According to an exemplary embodiment, the processor  330  may extract content information of each body component from the skin spectrum through regression analysis. For example, the processor  330  may resolve the skin spectrum into individual component spectrums and extract content information of each body component from the resolved individual component spectrums through regression analysis using a pure spectrum of each body component. The pure spectrum may refer to a spectrum of pure material (e.g., collagen, elastin, and keratin) of unit mass that is measured by emitting NIR toward the pure material of unit mass. 
     According to another exemplary embodiment, the processor  330  may extract content information of each body component from the skin spectrum based on a skin spectrum-body composition relation model. As described above, the skin spectrum-body composition relation model may be constructed by machine learning in which skin spectrum data for training is an input and content data of each body component (e.g., collagen content data, elastin content data, and keratin content data) corresponding to the skin-spectrum data for training is a target. 
     The processor  330  may generate skin-aging information of the user based on the extracted content information of each body component. In this case, the skin-aging information may include a type of skin aging (intrinsic aging/photo aging), a degree of skin aging, and a degree of skin elasticity. 
     For example, the processor  330  may determine the degree of intrinsic aging by using the collagen content information, the elastin content information, and the first relation table, and may determine the degree of photo aging by using the keratin content information and the second relation table. 
     In addition, the processor  330  may calculate a combined degree of aging combining intrinsic aging and photo aging based on the degree of intrinsic aging and the degree of photo aging, and may determine a degree of skin elasticity based on the calculated combined degree of aging. In this case, the processor  330  may use the third relation table. 
       FIG. 4  is a block diagram illustrating an apparatus for providing skin-aging information according to another exemplary embodiment. 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , an apparatus for providing skin-aging information  400  may selectively include an input unit  410 , a storage  420 , an output unit  430 , and an interval adjuster  440  in addition to the components of the apparatus for providing a skin-aging information  300  shown in  FIG. 3 . Since the input unit  410 , the storage  420 , and the output unit  430  are identical to the input unit  210 , the storage  220 , and the output unit  230  described with reference to  FIG. 2 , details thereof will be omitted in the following description. 
     The interval adjuster  440  may adjust an interval between a position (hereinafter, referred to as a skin incident position) at which light irradiated from the light source  310  is incident on skin and a position (hereinafter, referred to as a skin scattering position) at which the incident light is reflected and scattered from the skin. According to an exemplary embodiment, the interval adjuster  440  may adjust the interval between the skin incident position and the skin scattering position by controlling the light source  310  and the photo detector  321  such that a path length, that is, a distance travelled by the light emitted from the light source  310  in the skin of the user, is identical to a predetermined reference value. The predetermined reference value may be set to be in a range of 0.5 mm to 3 mm such that the light emitted from the light source  310  sufficiently passes through a dermis layer of the skin. However, the predetermined reference value is not limited thereto, and may be set to be various values depending on the use and performance of a system. The path length, that is, the distance of the light that travels through the skin of the user, may be calculated by analyzing a skin spectrum. 
       FIG. 5A  is a diagram illustrating a method of adjusting an interval between a skin incident position and a skin scattering position according to an exemplary embodiment. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5A , the photo detector  321  may be implemented in the form of a translational stage. The interval adjuster  440  may adjust an interval d between the skin incident position and the skin scattering position by moving the photo detector  321  implemented in the form of a translational stage. In this case, the light source  310  may be fixed. 
       FIG. 5B  is a diagram illustrating a method of adjusting an interval between a skin incident position and a skin scattering position according to another exemplary embodiment. 
     Referring to  FIG. 5B , the photo detector  321  may be implemented in the form of a rotational stage. In this case, the interval adjuster  440  may adjust the interval d between the skin incident position and the skin scattering position by rotating the photo detector  321  implemented in the form of a rotational stage. In this case, the light source  310  may be fixed. 
     Although the light source  310  is fixed and the photo detector  321  is implemented as a translational stage or a rotational stage as illustrated in  FIGS. 5A and 5B , the exemplary embodiment is not limited thereto. For example, the photo detector  321  may be fixed, and the light source  310  may be provided as a translational stage or a rotational stage to move or rotate. Alternatively, each of the light source  310  and the photo detector  321  may be provided as a translational stage or a rotational stage so that the light source  310  and the photo detector  321  may individually move or rotate. 
       FIG. 6  is a flow chart showing a method of providing skin-aging information according to an exemplary embodiment. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 1 to 6 , the apparatus for providing skin-aging information  100  may obtain a skin spectrum of a user (operation S 610 ). In this case, the skin spectrum may be a NIR absorption spectrum of skin that is obtained by measuring NIR emitted toward the skin of the user. However, the skin spectrum is not limited thereto, and may be a NIR transmittance spectrum of the skin or NIR reflectance spectrum of the skin. 
     According to an exemplary embodiment, the apparatus for providing skin-aging information  100  may receive skin spectrum information of the user from an external device by performing communication with the external device. For example, the apparatus  100  may receive the skin spectrum information of the user from the external device through communication, such as Bluetooth communication, BLE communication, NFC communication, WLAN communication, Zigbee communication, IrDA communication, WFD communication, UWB communication, Ant+ communication, WIFI communication, and RFID communication. However, this is only an example and the communication is not limited thereto. 
     The apparatus  100  may extract content information of body components including collagen, elastin, and keratin from the skin spectrum (operation S 620 ). 
     According to an exemplary embodiment, the apparatus for providing skin-aging information  100  may extract content information of each body component from the skin spectrum through regression analysis. For example, the apparatus  100  may resolve the skin spectrum into individual component spectrums and extract the content information of each body component from the resolved individual component spectrums through regression analysis using a pure spectrum of each body component. 
     According to another exemplary embodiment, the apparatus for providing skin-aging information  100  may extract the content information of each body component based on a skin spectrum-body composition relation model. The skin spectrum-body composition relation model may use a relationship between the skin spectrum and the content of each body component which is defined in the model. The skin spectrum-body composition relation model may be constructed by machine learning in which skin spectrum data for training is an input and the content data of each body component (for example, collagen content data, elastin content data, and keratin content data) corresponding to the skin-spectrum data for training is a target. 
     The apparatus for providing skin-aging information  100  may generate skin-aging information of the user based on the extracted content information of each body component (operation S 630 ). For example, the skin-aging information may include a type of skin aging (intrinsic aging/photo aging), a degree of skin aging, and a degree of skin elasticity. 
     For example, the apparatus for providing skin-aging information  100  may determine the degree of intrinsic aging based on the collagen content information and the elastin content information, and may determine the degree of photo aging based on the keratin content information. In this case, the apparatus  100  may use the first relation table in which a relationship of the degree of intrinsic aging and a difference between the collagen content and the elastin content in skin is defined and the second relation table in which a relationship of the keratin content in skin and the degree of photo aging is defined. 
     The apparatus for providing skin-aging information  100  may calculate a combined degree of aging combining intrinsic aging and photo aging based on the degree of intrinsic aging and the degree of photo aging, and may determine the degree of skin elasticity based on the calculated combined degree of aging. In this case, the apparatus  100  may use the third relation table. 
       FIG. 7  is a flow chart showing a method of providing skin-aging information according to another exemplary embodiment. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 7 , the apparatus for providing skin-aging information  300  may emit light toward skin of a user (operation S 710 ). The light emitted from the apparatus  300  may be NIR in a band of 1500 nm to 1900 nm or 2000 nm to 2400 nm. 
     The apparatus for providing skin-aging information  300  may measure a skin spectrum by detecting light that is scattered or reflected from the skin of the user (operation S 720 ). Meanwhile, the skin spectrum measured by the apparatus  300  may be a skin absorption spectrum, but the skin spectrum is not limited thereto, and may be a skin transmittance spectrum or a skin reflectance spectrum. 
     The apparatus for providing skin-aging information  300  may extract content information of body components including collagen, elastin, and keratin from the skin spectrum (operation S 730 ). 
     According to an exemplary embodiment, the apparatus for providing skin-aging information  300  may extract content information of each body component from the skin spectrum through regression analysis. For example, the apparatus  300  may resolve the skin spectrum into individual component spectrums and extract the content information of each body component from the resolved individual component spectrums through regression analysis using a pure spectrum of each body component. 
     According to another exemplary embodiment, the apparatus for providing skin-aging information  300  may extract the content information of each body component based on a skin spectrum-body composition relation model. 
     The apparatus for providing skin-aging information  300  may generate skin-aging information of the user based on the extracted content information of each body component (operation S 740 ). In this case, the skin-aging information may include a type of skin aging (intrinsic aging/photo aging), a degree of skin aging, and a degree of skin elasticity. 
     For example, the apparatus for providing skin-aging information  300  may determine the degree of intrinsic aging based on collagen content information, elastin content information, and the first relation table, and may determine the degree of photo aging based on keratin content information and the second relation table. 
     In addition, the apparatus for providing skin-aging information  300  may calculate a combined degree of aging combining intrinsic aging and photo aging based on the degree of intrinsic aging and the degree of photo aging, and may determine the degree of skin elasticity based on the calculated combined degree of aging. In this case, the apparatus  300  may use the third relation table. 
       FIG. 8  is a flow chart showing a method of providing skin-aging information according to another exemplary embodiment. 
     Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 8 , the apparatus for providing skin-aging information  400  may adjust an interval between a skin incident position at which a light emitted from the light source  310  is incident on skin and a skin scattering position at which the incident light is reflected and scattered from the skin (operation S 810 ). According to an exemplary embodiment, the apparatus  400  may adjust the interval between the skin incident position and the skin scattering position by controlling the light source  310  and the photo detector  321  such that a path length, that is, a distance that the light travels in the skin of the user, is identical to a predetermined reference value. The predetermined reference value may be set to be in a range of 0.5 mm to 3 mm such that the light irradiated from the light source  310  sufficiently passes through a dermis layer of the skin. However, the predetermined reference value is not limited thereto, and may be set to be various values depending on the use and performance of a system. 
     The apparatus for providing skin-aging information  400  may emit light toward the skin of a user (operation S 820 ). The light emitted from the apparatus  400  may be NIR in a band of 1500 nm to 1900 nm or 2000 nm to 2400 nm. 
     The apparatus for providing skin-aging information  400  may measure a skin spectrum by detecting light that is scattered or reflected from the skin of the user (operation S 830 ). 
     The apparatus for providing skin-aging information  400  may extract content information of body components including collagen, elastin, and keratin from the skin spectrum (operation S 840 ). 
     According to an exemplary embodiment, the apparatus for providing skin-aging information  400  may extract content information of each body component from the skin spectrum through regression analysis. For example, the apparatus  400  may resolve the skin spectrum into individual component spectrums and extract the content information of each body component from the resolved individual component spectrums through regression analysis using a pure spectrum of each body component. 
     According to another exemplary embodiment, the apparatus for providing skin-aging information  400  may extract the content information of each body component based on a skin spectrum-body composition relation model. 
     The apparatus for providing skin-aging information  400  may generate skin-aging information of the user based on the extracted content information of each body component (operation S 850 ). In this case, the skin-aging information may include a type of skin aging (e.g., intrinsic aging or photo aging), a degree of skin aging, and a degree of skin elasticity. 
     For example, the apparatus for providing skin-aging information  400  may determine the degree of intrinsic aging based on collagen content information, elastin content information, and the first relation table, and may determine the degree of photo aging based on keratin content information and the second relation table. 
     In addition, the apparatus for providing skin-aging information  400  may calculate a combined degree of aging combining intrinsic aging and photo aging based on the degree of intrinsic aging and the degree of photo aging, and may determine the degree of skin elasticity based on the calculated combined degree of aging. In this case, the apparatus  400  may use the third relation table. 
       FIG. 9  is a detailed flow chart showing an operation (operation S 810 ) in which an interval between a skin incident position and a skin scattering position is adjusted shown in  FIG. 8 . 
     Referring to  FIGS. 4 and 9 , the apparatus for providing skin-aging information  400  may adjust the interval between a skin incident position at which light irradiated from the light source  310  is incident on skin and a skin scattering position at which the incident light is reflected and scattered from the skin by controlling the light source  310  and the photo detector  321  (operation S 910 ). 
     The apparatus for providing skin-aging information  400  may emit light toward the skin of a user according to the adjusted interval (operation S 920 ) and measure a skin spectrum by detecting light that is reflected and scattered from the skin of the user (operation S 930 ). 
     The apparatus for providing skin-aging information  400  may calculate a path length, that is, a distance that the light travels inside the skin of the user, by analyzing the measured skin spectrum (operation S 940 ). 
     The apparatus for providing skin-aging information  400  may compare the calculated path length with a predetermined reference value (operation S 950 ). The predetermined reference value may be set to be in a range of 0.5 mm to 3 mm such that the light emitted from the light source  310  sufficiently passes through a dermis layer of the skin. However, the predetermined reference value is not limited thereto, and may be set to be various values depending on the use and performance of a system. 
     The apparatus for providing skin-aging information  400  may terminate the operation of adjusting the interval between the skin incident position and the skin scattering position when the calculated path length is identical to the predetermined reference value, and otherwise may return to operation S 910 . 
     While not restricted thereto, an exemplary embodiment can be embodied as computer-readable code on a computer-readable recording medium. The computer-readable recording medium is any data storage device that can store data that can be thereafter read by a computer system. Examples of the computer-readable recording medium include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), CD-ROMs, magnetic tapes, floppy disks, and optical data storage devices. The computer-readable recording medium can also be distributed over network-coupled computer systems so that the computer-readable code is stored and executed in a distributed fashion. Also, an exemplary embodiment may be written as a computer program transmitted over a computer-readable transmission medium, such as a carrier wave, and received and implemented in general-use or special-purpose digital computers that execute the programs. Moreover, it is understood that in exemplary embodiments, one or more units of the above-described apparatuses and devices can include circuitry, a processor, a microprocessor, etc., and may execute a computer program stored in a computer-readable medium. The foregoing exemplary embodiments are merely exemplary and are not to be construed as limiting. The present teaching can be readily applied to other types of apparatuses. Also, the description of the exemplary embodiments is intended to be illustrative, and not to limit the scope of the claims, and many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art.