[Optical coherence tomography for skin pathologies]

Area of Science:

• Dermatology
• Medical Imaging
• Oncology

Background:

• Optical coherence tomography (OCT) presents challenges in skin imaging due to high light scattering.
• Traditional methods like visual assessment and biopsy are often sufficient in dermatology.
• OCT's application in routine dermatological diagnosis is a recent development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To highlight the diagnostic capabilities of OCT in dermatology, particularly for epithelial skin tumors.
• To explore the potential of OCT in early tumor recognition and differential diagnosis.
• To assess OCT's role in preoperative tumor assessment and treatment monitoring.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing optical coherence tomography (OCT) for in vivo skin imaging.
• Applying dynamic OCT to visualize and quantify superficial skin vasculature.
• Comparing OCT findings with clinical presentation and histopathology.

Main Results:

• OCT enables early detection of subtle basal cell carcinomas and aids in differentiating various skin tumors and precancerous lesions.
• Preoperative tumor spread assessment and monitoring of non-surgical treatments are feasible with OCT, potentially reducing the need for biopsies.
• Dynamic OCT shows promise in evaluating tumor angiogenesis, wound healing, and laser therapy outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Optical coherence tomography is a valuable tool for diagnosing epithelial skin tumors in dermatology, improving early detection and treatment planning.
• OCT can minimize the need for invasive procedures like biopsies by providing detailed preoperative and follow-up information.
• Dynamic OCT offers new avenues for assessing skin vascularity in conditions like tumors and during therapeutic interventions, including ophthalmological applications for eyelid tumors.