Optics

Physics

Radiology

Confocal

Biomedical engineering

Microscopy

Biotechnology

Tomography

Materials science

Image resolution

In vivo

Optical coherence tomography

Confocal microscopy

Preclinical imaging

Medical imaging

Medicine

Biology

Journal of Biomedical Optics

An optical technique called line-field confocal optical coherence tomography (LC-OCT) is introduced for high-resolution, noninvasive imaging of human skin in vivo. LC-OCT combines the principles of time-domain optical coherence tomography and confocal microscopy with line illumination and detection using a broadband laser and a line-scan camera. LC-OCT measures the echo-time delay and amplitude of light backscattered from cutaneous microstructures through low-coherence interferometry associated with confocal spatial filtering. Multiple A-scans are acquired simultaneously while dynamically adjusting the focus. The resulting cross-sectional B-scan image is produced in real time at 10 frame / s. With an isotropic spatial resolution of ∼1 μm, the LC-OCT images reveal a comprehensive structural mapping of skin at the cellular level down to a depth of ∼500 μm. LC-OCT has been applied to the imaging of various skin lesions, in vivo, including carcinomas and melanomas. LC-OCT images are found to strongly correlate with conventional histopathological images. The use of LC-OCT as an adjunct tool in medical practice could significantly improve clinical diagnostic accuracy while reducing the number of biopsies of benign lesions.

Line-field confocal optical coherence tomography for high-resolution noninvasive imaging of skin tumors