Correlating Vibrational Optical Coherence Tomography (VOCT), A Non-Invasive Imaging Modality, With Histopathology in BCC Patients

Summary: Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) affects one in five Americans. BCC most commonly rises in sun-damaged skin and could be highly destructive if treatment is delayed or inadequate. The current mainstay of BCC diagnosis involves an invasive skin biopsy. This study aims to correlate Vibrational Optical Coherence Tomography (VOCT) images, a noninvasive imaging modality, with BCC-diagnosed histopathology images to assess patterns of recognition. OCT images were analyzed based on pixel intensity using a Lumedica 2.0 device. Images were broken down into green, blue, and red pixels indicating low, medium, and high intensity, respectively. The VOCT images were then correlated to the histopathology images known to show patterns of BCC. Four excised biopsies were analyzed. The location of the nodules corresponded with the presence of black spots in the red-green-blue VOCT images collected at 840 nm. The results of this pilot study suggest that understanding the VOCT patterns may provide information to differentiate benign from malignant lesions and find patterns that are indicative of BCC. VOCT can be used in conjunction with dermoscopy and visual inspection by physicians to non-invasively diagnose skin lesions. Additionally, these images can be collected remotely for review in areas where specialists are in short supply.