3D optical coherence tomography for clinical diagnosis of nonmelanoma skin cancers

Abstract

High-resolution frequency domain optical coherence tomography (OCT) stands out amongst a range of novel dermatologic imaging technologies, with its good detection sensitivity around -100 dB, high measurement speeds allowing real-time image acquisition and its ability to acquire high definition crosssectional and 3D tomograms of regions greater than 1 cm 2 , providing tissue information comparable to conventional histopathology without the need for any contrast agents. Typical axial and transverse resolutions of state-of-the-art OCT systems range between 1-10 µm and approximately 20 µm, respectively, depending on the employed wavelength region. This review investigates the significant progress accomplished in the field of dermatologic OCT with respect to other in vivo diagnostic methods for preexcisional imaging of nonmelanoma skin cancers and specifically emphasizes state-of-the-art results achieved in different clinical pilot studies. Further technological extensions of OCT, various multimodal imaging approaches as well as potential clinical dermatologic applications are discussed.KEYWORDS: cancer diagnosis n contrast-enhanced imaging n dermatology n functional imaging n microscopy n multimodal imaging n optical coherence tomography n optical imaging n tomography

In situ structural and microangiographic assessment of human skin lesions with high-speed OCT

“…(b) and (c) 2 × 2 mm en-face mean projection over depth range indicated in (a) of the fly through the microvasculature starting from surface (). Scale bars indicate 250 µm in every picture. is a representative tomogram of the referred location visualizing the characteristic layers of a glabrous skin [21]. The stratum disjunctum (SD) appears as a first thin bright layer.…”

Three‐dimensional multiphoton/optical coherence tomography for diagnostic applications in dermatology

“…The most characteristic feature of a nodular BCC in MPT was peripheral palisading of basal cells around the tumor cell nests [47]. Meanwhile, BCC displayed features such as plug-like signal intense structures and signal-free cavities in OCT [20,48]. Melanoma was characterized in MPT by features such as large intercellular distances, pleomorphic cells and the presence of dendritic cells [12].…”

“…Multimodal combinations of several non-invasive imaging modalities suitable for dermatological applications have been investigated [20,43]. In an ex vivo study, MPT/fluorescence lifetime imaging (FLIM) approach has been shown to be useful for demarcating malignant melanoma and BCC [13].…”

“…OCT is capable of delineating major layers of skin such as epidermis (EPI), papillary dermis (PD) and reticular dermis (RD) [2,18]. It has been used for non-invasive in vivo diagnosis and follow-up of several dermatological conditions [19,20].…”

Backscattering spectroscopy for assessing skin tumor

“…For the noninvasive skin cancer diagnostics the application of biomedical imaging is known, such as PET [4], optical coherence tomography [5,6], confocal microscopy [7]. However, the imaging methods are labour-consuming and expensive, and their application is reasonable for updating the already established diagnosis, planning and control of the treatment process.…”