Optical tomography of pigmented human skin biopsies

Iris Riemann, Peter Fischer, Martin Kaatz, Tobias W. Fischer, Peter Eisner, Enrico Dimitrov, Annette Reif, K. König*

*Corresponding author for this work

Abstract

The novel femtosecond NIR (near infrared) laser based high resolution imaging system DermaInspect was used for non-invasive diagnostics of pigmented skin. The system provides fluorescence and SHG images of high spatial submicron resolution (3D) and 250 ps temporal resolution (4D) based on time resolved single photon counting (TCSPC). Pigmented tissue biopsies from patients with nevi and melanoma have been investigated using the tunable 80 MHz femtosecond laser MaiTai with laser wavelengths in the range of 750-850 nm. The autofluorescence patterns of different intratissue cell types and structures were determined. The non-linear induced autofluorescence originates from naturally endogenous fluorophores and protein structures like NAD(P)H, flavins, elastin, collagen, phorphyrins and melanin. In addition to autofluorescence, SHG (second harmonic generation) was used to detect dermal collagen structures. Interestingly, pigmented cells showed intense luminescence signals. Further characterization of tissue components was performed via 4D measurements of the fluorescence lifetime (x, y, z, τ). The novel multiphoton technique offers the possibility of a painless high resolution non invasive diagnostic method (optical biopsy), in particular for the early detection of skin cancer.

Original languageEnglish
JournalProgress in Biomedical Optics and Imaging - Proceedings of SPIE
Volume5
Issue number1
Number of pages11
ISSN1605-7422
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2004
EventLasers in Surgery: Advanced Characterization, Therapeutics, and Systems XIV - San Jose, United States
Duration: 24.01.200427.01.2004
Conference number: 64190

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Optical tomography of pigmented human skin biopsies'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this