Early detection of cutaneous malignant melanoma by three-dimensional nevoscopy

Malignant melanoma is the most lethal form of skin cancer, and often develops from a pre-existing mole (nevus) or the pigment cells of the upper layer of the skin. The incidence of, as well as the mortality rate due to malignant melanoma is increasing relentlessly all over the world. The survival rate may be improved and nearly all patients may be saved if their melanomas are detected early and removed surgically. We have developed a new non-invasive method of imaging nevi and other skin lesions for the detection of three-dimensional changes in the shape and size of such lesions which uses the principles of computed tomography (CT). The skin lesion is transilluminated using fibre optics directed into the skin and images of the transilluminated lesion are obtained at different angles by an optical instrument called a 'nevoscope'. The three-dimensional reconstruction of the lesion is then obtained using new limited-view CT algorithms. A quantitative analysis of consecutive three-dimensional reconstructions demonstrates any changes in thickness, size, color, and structure of the lesion which may indicate the development of a malignant melanoma.