In-vivo trials of Michelson Diagnostics' Vivosight multi-beam optical coherence tomography (OCT) probe have begun.
The trials, which are being carried out jointly by Michelson Diagnostics and Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, will assess the capability of the probe to be used to differentiate pre-malignant and early malignant lesions and also to demarcate non-melanoma skin cancers before planned surgical excision.
At least 100 patients will be scanned.
Dr Gordon McKenzie, medical applications director of Michelson Diagnostics, said: 'OCT is a new non-invasive imaging system, which, because of its imaging depth and very good resolution, could play an important role in the pre-operative diagnostics of early carcinomas in the skin.
'The early recognition and therapy of skin tumours, especially of the early and precursor lesions, can increase the survival of patients significantly and can reduce the huge social-economic damage currently experienced,' he added.
According to McKenzie, as current common imaging systems such as ultrasound, CT and MRT do not have sufficient sensitivity for the early forms of skin cancer, the early recognition of tumours of the skin relies solely on medical inspection, on epiluminescence microscopy and on subsequent biopsy.
Current procedures are said to be expensive and time consuming.
He continued: 'Additionally, single biopsies may not lead to the correct diagnosis because lesions commonly occur in multiple locations and they can also occur over large regions before they become invasive at selected areas.
'Therefore, the crucial areas of invasive tumour growth may not be identified by single biopsies.
'With the help of 3D mapping and structured surveillance using OCT, information may be obtained in a non-invasive manner over the extension, the structure and the possible dignity [benign or malignant] of such lesions without needing to take an invasive biopsy,' added McKenzie.
For example, he said, if the distinction between dysplasia and early invasive carcinoma was possible, then subsequent treatment, such as the kind of resection, PDT or other forms of local therapy, can be better planned.
McKenzie added: 'OCT would offer a non-invasive examination tool of the tissue, would provide quasi-histological information about the tissue, the so-called "optical biopsy", and would give new innovative possibilities in the field of diagnostics.' The Vivosight OCT probe is on sale in Europe for clinical use, but is currently only available for non-clinical applications within the US.
