Elastic scattering spectroscopy in assessing skin lesions: An “ in vivo ” study

Summary Introduction Elastic scattering spectroscopy (ESS) has been shown to be accurate in the identification of abnormalities of soft tissue. These include ischemia and inflammation, pre-cancer and cancer. The aim of this study was to compare findings of ESS with gold standard histopathology in patients with various skin lesions. Materials and methods Seventy-three patients with clinically suspicious facial skin lesions were included. Those lesions with the surrounding innocuous skin were interrogated by ESS, biopsies were taken and examined histopathologically; the results were then compared. Results The preliminary analysis showed obvious spectral differences between normal and pathological skin. Spectral differences were identified when comparing benign skin conditions to malignant ones. Spectral differences were identified between basal cell carcinomas and other skin lesions. Conclusions This preliminary study shows that ESS can distinguish between normal, benign and malignant skin conditions.