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Skin Cancer pp 257–266Cite as

Optical Coherence Tomography

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Part of the book series: Current Clinical Pathology ((CCPATH))

Abstract

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has developed rapidly since its first realisation in medicine and is currently an emerging technology in the diagnosis of skin disease. OCT is an interferometric technique that detects reflected and backscattered light from tissue and is often described as the optical analogue to ultrasound. The inherent safety of the technology allows for in vivo use of OCT in patients. The main strength of OCT is the depth resolution. In dermatology, most OCT research has turned on non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) and non-invasive monitoring of morphological changes in a number of skin diseases based on pattern recognition, and studies have found good agreement between OCT images and histopathological architecture. OCT has shown high accuracy in distinguishing lesions from normal skin, which is of great importance in identifying tumour borders or residual neoplastic tissue after therapy. The OCT images provide an advantageous combination of resolution and penetration depth, but specific studies of diagnostic sensitivity and specificity in dermatology are sparse. In order to improve OCT image quality and expand the potential of OCT, technical developments are necessary. It is suggested that the technology will be of particular interest to the routine follow-up of patients undergoing non-invasive therapy of malignant or premalignant keratinocyte tumours. It is speculated that the continued technological development can propel the method to a greater level of dermatological use.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Roskilde Hospital, University of Copenhagen, DK-4000, Roskilde, Denmark

    Mette Mogensen MD, PhD, Lotte Themstrup, Christina Banzhaf & Gregor B. E. Jemec

  2. Department of Dermatology, Bispebjerg Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Bispebjerg Bakke, Copenhagen, Denmark

    Mette Mogensen MD, PhD

  3. DTU Fotonik – Department of Photonics Engineering, Technical University of Denmark, Roskilde, DK-4000, Denmark

    Sebastian Marschall & Peter E. Andersen

Authors
  1. Mette Mogensen MD, PhD
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  2. Lotte Themstrup
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  3. Christina Banzhaf
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  4. Sebastian Marschall
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  5. Peter E. Andersen
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  6. Gregor B. E. Jemec
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mette Mogensen MD, PhD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, Second University of Naples Department of Environmental, Biological, Naples, Italy

    Alfonso Baldi

  2. Department of Dermatology, Pius Hospital de Valls, Valls, Tarragona, Spain

    Paola Pasquali

  3. S.A.F.U. Department, Regina Elena Cancer Institute, Rome, Italy

    Enrico P Spugnini

Glossary

TD-OCT

Time domain OCT

FD-OTC

Frequency domain OCT

LCI

Low-coherence interferometry

OCT

Optical coherence tomography. It is an interferometric technique that detects reflected or backscattered light from tissue

OCM

Optical coherence microscopy

Michelson interferometer

The principle of OCT is white light or low coherence interferometry. The optical setup typically consists of an interferometer, typically a Michelson type, with a low coherence, broad bandwidth light source

SD-OCT

Spectral domain-OCT

SS-OCT

Swept source-OCT

Axial resolution

The axial and lateral resolutions of OCT are decoupled from one another; the former being an equivalent to the coherence length of the light source

Transverse resolution

is defined as a function of the optics, as opposed to axial resolution that matches the coherence length of the light source

InGaAs-based cameras

Deep-cooled camera systems that employ indium gallium arsenide. These are cameras with focal plane arrays (FPAs) that can both amplify and broaden the utility of near infrared (NIR) and shortwave infrared (SWIR) regions of the spectrum

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Mogensen, M., Themstrup, L., Banzhaf, C., Marschall, S., Andersen, P.E., Jemec, G.B.E. (2014). Optical Coherence Tomography. In: Baldi, A., Pasquali, P., Spugnini, E. (eds) Skin Cancer. Current Clinical Pathology. Humana Press, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7357-2_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7357-2_16

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