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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 20, 2026

Combining Reflectance Confocal Microscopy with Optical Coherence Tomography for Noninvasive Diagnosis of Skin Cancers via Image Acquisition

Combining Reflectance Confocal Microscopy with Optical Coherence Tomography for Noninvasive Diagnosis of Skin Cancers via Image Acquisition

Published on: August 18, 2022

Reflectance confocal microscopy in the daily practice.

Verena Ahlgrimm-Siess¹, Rainer Hofmann-Wellenhof, Theresa Cao

¹Department of Dermatology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria. verena.ahlgrimm@medunigraz.at

Seminars in Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery

|September 29, 2009

Summary

Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) aids in diagnosing skin neoplasms. This noninvasive imaging tool provides cellular-level resolution, improving diagnostic accuracy for challenging pigmented and nonpigmented lesions.

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Area of Science:

Dermatology
Optical Imaging
Oncology

Background:

Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) offers noninvasive, in vivo imaging of skin layers.
It provides en face, cellular-level resolution, complementing dermoscopy.
RCM is valuable for assessing skin neoplasms.

Observation:

Six cases of clinically and dermoscopically equivocal skin lesions were analyzed.
RCM facilitated accurate diagnosis in cases of pigmented basal cell carcinoma, pigmented actinic keratosis, and melanoma.
RCM identified basal cell carcinoma in a nonpigmented facial lesion.

Findings:

RCM revealed distinct features for classifying pigmented lesions, including those with regression.
Histopathologic analysis confirmed RCM-based diagnoses.
RCM enabled monitoring of treatment response for actinic keratosis and melanoma in situ.

Implications:

RCM is a practical tool for diagnosing and managing pigmented and nonpigmented skin neoplasms.
Its cellular-level resolution enhances diagnostic confidence in equivocal cases.
RCM supports noninvasive monitoring of treatment efficacy for skin lesions.