782 all rights reserved near infrared (nIr) spectroscopy is a non-invasive, nondestructive, cost-effective and fast method that has a great (commercial) potential in medical technology. a growing interest in applying nIr spectroscopy in medical diagnostics, such as monitoring of skin disorders and endoscopy of the digestive system, has appeared. despite great advances in nIr technology and methodology in recent years, new innovations are needed to meet the upcoming challenges in health care.the objective of this study was to evaluate the applicability of different wavelength selection methods and to find out, whether nIr spectroscopy can be used to detect skin disorders such as sunburn, or erythema, and further, what effects erythema has on the nIr spectra of skin. this information can be used to assess the feasibility of nIr spectroscopy for skin measurements and imaging in the presence of erythema. although erythema is usually observable in the visible band, nIr spectroscopy may enhance early detection and distinguish other inflammations from erythema. Moreover, ultraviolet (uV)-induced erythema is a convenient and controlled way to cause an inflammation, and because nIr spectra are related to the dermal biochemistry, nIr spectroscopy could be used, for example, for on-line monitoring of drug treatments.nIr radiation can penetrate cutaneous tissue, as well as other biological materials, for several millimeters. Hence nIr can detect phenomena that occur in the deeper layers of skin, for example, erythema-related water influx, thickening of the stratum corneum and metabolic changes. usually, however, most of the information of nIr measurement originates from department of electrical engineering and automation, university of Vaasa, faculty on technology, po Box 700, fI-65101 Vaasa, finlandThe acute effects of sun-bathing on the near-infrared absorption spectra of human skin were studied by exposing the shoulders of a male test subject to bright Finnish high summer mid-day sun. The spectra were measured before, immediately after and for several days after exposure. Four different spectral processing and classification methods were applied to the data set to identify differences caused by exposure to the sun. The spectrophotometer and measuring procedure were found to cause some systematic errors, calling for further development, even though they could, to a large extent, be compensated for computationally. Spectral regions indicating ultraviolet radiation-induced erythema were located and the degree of erythema could be predicted correctly but the signal is weak. This paper discusses promising wavelength selection methods to study the dermal effects of exposure to the sun, as well as difficulties and remedies of near infrared spectroscopic measurements of the skin.