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Study of cutaneous cell carcinomas ex vivo using ultrasound biomicroscopic images
L I Petrella1, H A Valle, P R Issa
1Biomedical Engineering Program, Center of Technology, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Background:
The ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) technique generates high-resolution echographic images using acoustic frequencies between 20 and 200 MHz. In dermatology, it enables non-invasive visualization of cutaneous structures. In this sense, several studies are being conducted for the measurement of cutaneous tumor sizes and for the evaluation of their response to therapeutic procedures. The present work was conducted to analyze the ability of UBM to identify diverse histological structures associated with cutaneous carcinomas ex vivo regarding the evaluation of the technique as a diagnostic tool that could, eventually, improve the patient's healthcare protocol.
Methods:
Ex vivo human tissue samples, corresponding to basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma cases, were studied. The ultrasonic system operated with a center frequency of 45MHz and the histological structures were identified by comparison with the light microscopy images.
Results:
The histological components present in the tumors were identified by variations in the echogenicity level for several of the studied cases and particular characteristics were observed for the different tumor types.
Conclusion:
The possibility of differentiating the histological components associated with cutaneous carcinomas indicates the potential use of UBM for diagnostic applications. However, a larger number of specimens must be studied.
