Design and Validation of a Handheld Optical Polarization Imager for Preoperative Delineation of Basal Cell Carcinoma

Accurate removal of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is challenging due to the subtle contrast between cancerous and normal skin. A method aiding with preoperative delineation of BCC margins would be valuable. The aim of this study was to implement and clinically validate a novel handheld optical polarization imaging (OPI) device for rapid, noninvasive, in vivo assessment of skin cancer margins.

The handheld imager was designed, built, and tested. For clinical validation, 10 subjects with biopsy-confirmed BCC were imaged. Presumable cancer margins were marked by the study surgeon. The optical images were spectrally encoded to mitigate the impact of endogenous skin chromophores. The results of OPI and of the surgeon's preoperative visual assessment were compared to clinical intraoperative histopathology.

As compared to the previous prototype, the handheld imager incorporates automated image processing and has 10-times shorter acquisition times. It is twice as light and provides twice as large a field of view. Clinical validation demonstrated that margin assessments using OPI were more accurate than visual assessment by the surgeon. The images were in good correlation with histology in 9 out of 10 cases.

Handheld OPI could improve the outcomes of skin cancer treatments without impairing clinical workflows.