Study evaluates clinical utility of OCT in basal cell carcinoma diagnosis

April 29, 2015
An independent clinical study demonstrates the clinical value of optical coherence tomography (OCT) in diagnosing basal cell carcinoma.

Medical device maker Michelson Diagnostics (Maidstone, Kent, England), which focuses on multi-beam optical coherence tomography (OCT) technology, has published full results from an independent clinical study that demonstrates the clinical value of OCT in diagnosing basal cell carcinoma (BCC). The multicenter study was conducted using the company's VivoSight multi-beam OCT device.

Related: OCT developments address skin cancer diagnosis

The study highlights that using the device is an efficient, noninvasive way to diagnose BCC, with the potential to reduce avoidable biopsies and surgery, thereby reducing scarring for patients.

Study details showed a significant increase in specificity to 75.3% (p<0.0001) when using OCT in the diagnosis of BCC when compared to clinical assessment alone (specificity of 28.6%). Use of dermoscopy in addition to clinical evaluation resulted in an increase in specificity to only 54.3%. Diagnostic sensitivity of clinical evaluation alone for BCC was found to be high (90.0%) and while there was a slight increase in sensitivity when using OCT or dermoscopy in addition to clinical evaluation, it did not reach statistical significance. Importantly, the study showed a sizeable improvement in the accuracy of diagnosis of all lesions from 65.8% for clinical evaluation alone to 87.4% with OCT.

Full details of the work appear in the British Journal of Dermatology; for more information, please visit http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bjd.13853.

-----

Follow us on Twitter, 'like' us on Facebook, connect with us on Google+, and join our group on LinkedIn

About the Author

BioOptics World Editors

We edited the content of this article, which was contributed by outside sources, to fit our style and substance requirements. (Editor’s Note: BioOptics World has folded as a brand and is now part of Laser Focus World, effective in 2022.)

Sponsored Recommendations

Photonics Business Moves: December 1, 2023

Dec. 1, 2023
Here are the top four photonics business moves that made headlines during the week ending December 1, 2023.

Video: December 1, 2023 Photonics Hot List

Dec. 1, 2023
In this episode, we cover how laser scanning aids advanced robotics, ultrafast lasers on the tip of a finger, and a tunable laser that controls material functionality.

Next generation tunable infrared lasers

Nov. 28, 2023
Discussion of more powerful and stable quantum cascade tunable infrared lasers, applications, and test results.

What AI demands mean for data centers

Nov. 28, 2023
The 2023 Photonics-Enabled Cloud Computing Summit assembled by Optica took an aggressive approach to calling out the limitations of today’s current technologies.

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of Laser Focus World, create an account today!