Use of Vibrational Optical Coherence Tomography to Noninvasively Differentiate Between Benign Fibrotic Tissue and Fibrosis Associated with Melanoma

In this study we report the use of vibrational optical coherence tomography to compare fibrosis in a skin lesion to that observed in a melanoma. Using vibrational optical coherence tomography (VOCT) it is possible to noninvasively differentiate between fibrosis found in benign skin lesions and fibrosis associated with skin cancer. Cancerous skin lesions exhibit new resonant frequencies at 80Hz and 130Hz along a fibrotic resonant frequency at about 260 Hz. The 80 Hz and 130 Hz peaks are absent in benign lesions. VOCT can provide another noninvasive tool along with dermoscopy and visual inspection to provide diagnostic information about the nature of skin lesions. VOCT can be operated remotely and can be used with telemedicine to provide diagnosis of difficult skin lesions in remote areas where the availability of a dermatologist is limited.