Researchers have developed a “virtual biopsy” device that can distinguish between healthy skin and different types of skin lesions and carcinomas.
The ability to analyse a skin tumour non-invasively couldmake biopsies much less risky and distressing to patients, according the studypublished in the journal Skin Research and Technology.
To develop the device that can quickly determine a skinlesion’s depth and potential malignancy without using a scalpel, theresearchers used sound vibrations and pulses of near-infrared light.
“This procedure can be completed in 15 minutes with nodiscomfort to the patient, who feels no sensation from the light or the nearlyinaudible sound. It’s a significant improvement over surgical biopsies, whichare expensive and time consuming,” said study lead author Frederick Silver,Professor at Rutgers University in the US.
The experimental procedure, called vibrational opticalcoherence tomography (VOCT), creates a 3D map of the legion’s width and depthunder the skin with a tiny laser diode, said the study.
It also uses sound waves to test the lesion’s density andstiffness since cancer cells are stiffer than healthy cells. An inch-longspeaker applies audible sound waves against the skin to measure vibrations anddetermine whether the lesion is malignant. For the findings, the research teamtested the device over six months on four skin excisions and on eightvolunteers without skin lesions.