[New Optical Examination Procedures for the Diagnosis of Skin Diseases]

Overview

Journal Hautarzt

Specialty Dermatology

Date 2020 Jan 23

PMID 31965207

Citations 1

Authors

K Sies

J K Winkler

M Zieger

M Kaatz

H A Haenssle

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Since the establishment of dermoscopy as a routine examination procedure in dermatology, the spectrum of noninvasive, optical devices has further expanded. In difficult-to-diagnose clinical cases, these systems may support dermatologists to arrive at a correct diagnosis without the need for a surgical biopsy.

Objective: To give an overview about technical background, indications and diagnostic performance regarding four new optical procedures: reflectance confocal microscopy, in vivo multiphoton tomography, dermatofluoroscopy, and systems based on image analysis by artificial intelligence (AI).

Materials And Methods: This article is based on a selective review of the literature, as well as the authors' personal experience from clinical studies relevant for market approval of the devices.

Results: In contrast to standard histopathological slides with vertical cross sections, reflectance confocal microscopy and in vivo multiphoton tomography allow for "optical biopsies" with horizontal cross sections. Dermatofluoroscopy and AI-based image analyzers provide a numerical score, which helps to correctly classify a skin lesion. The presented new optical procedures may be applied for the diagnosis of skin cancer as well as inflammatory skin diseases.

Conclusion: The presented optical procedures provide valuable additional information that supports dermatologists in making the correct diagnosis. However, a surgical biopsy followed by dermatohistopathological examination remains the diagnostic gold standard in dermatology.

Citing Articles

[Fluorescence detection to diagnose melanoma : An alternative objective method for dermatohistology].

Leupold D Dermatologie (Heidelb). 2023; 74(9):725-729.

PMID: 37351600 DOI: 10.1007/s00105-023-05182-x.

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