Skin Lesion

The purpose of this pilot study is to employ multiphoton microscopy to non-invasively image in-vivo pigmented and non-pigmented human skin lesions for characterization of their morphologic and functional features.

The purpose of this study is to find out whether using noninvasive methods to study the appearance of lesions can improve diagnostic accuracy before a biopsy is required and help guide treatment planning. The database created to store these images is called an Image Repository, and it will be used to support clinical practice, teaching and training, and future research.The High-resolution OCT (Apollo Medical Optics) device ApolloVue® S100 Image System (medical device Class II) can provide both cross-sectional and en-face images with cellular information.

The incidence of skin cancer has been continuously increasing over the past decades und the number of non melanoma skin cancer is well as melanoma is still going to increase. Invasive biopsy and histological examination represents the gold standard in diagnosis of benign and malignant skin tumors. However, novel technologies such as reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) have been introduced in dermatology. Multiple studies have shown the applicability of both technologies for diagnosis of skin tumors as well as other skin diseases and to increase the specificity of diagnosis resulting in the reduction of unnecessary biopsies. New technological developments resulted in a high resolution OCT scanner (AMO, Taiwan), which allows vertical and horizontal evaluation (3D) of the skin at cellular resolution and up to a depth of around 400 μm and thus combines the advantages of both above mentioned techniques. ApolloVue® S100 Image System is a FDA-cleared 510(k) Class II medical device. Other non-invasive imaging method (reflectance confocal microscopy and conventional optical coherence tomography) will be used to evaluate a subset of skin lesions.