Computational Model Based on Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) Skin Scanning to Identify and Quantify Acute...

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Dermatology
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Acute radiation dermatitis (ARD) is a common side effect of radiotherapy.
• Current methods for measuring ARD lack objectivity and reliability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify radiotherapy effects using a computational model with optical coherence tomography (OCT) skin scanning.
• To assess the impact of different radiotherapy schemes and topical therapies on ARD.

Main Methods:

• Prospective, single-center case series of 39 breast cancer patients undergoing whole breast radiotherapy (WBRT).
• Development of a computational model for quantitative analysis of OCT skin scans.
• Comparison of OCT findings with clinical ARD assessment.

Main Results:

• OCT detected vascularization changes in 84.6% of patients, exceeding clinical detection rates (69.2%).
• Increased vascularization was quantified post-WBRT, decreasing after 3 months.
• More pronounced erythematous skin changes were observed with a 25-fraction radiotherapy regimen.

Conclusions:

• An OCT computational model effectively identifies and quantifies vascularization changes in irradiated skin.
• This method can detect subclinical ARD, enabling objective assessment.
• Findings support the development of standardized ARD protocols irrespective of patient skin color.