Clinical Usefulness of Optical Skin Biopsy
Traditional biopsy requires the removal, fixation, and staining of tissues from the human
body. Its procedure is invasive and painful. Non-invasive in vivo optical biopsy is thus
required, which should provide non-invasive, highly penetrative, three-dimensional (3D)
imaging with sub-micron spatial resolution. Optical biopsy based on scanning two-photon
fluorescence microscopy (TPFM) is a good method for biopsy of skin due to its high lateral
resolution, low out-of-focus damage, and intrinsic three-dimensional (3D) section
capability. However current technology still presents several limitations including low
penetration depth, in-focus cell damages, and multi-photon phototoxicity due to high optical
intensity in the 800 nm wavelength region, and toxicity if exogenous fluorescence markers
were required. We study the harmonics optical biopsy of a human skin sample using a
femtosecond Cr:forsterite laser centered at 1230 nm. Higher harmonics generation is known to
leave no energy deposition to the interacted matters due to their energy-conservation
characteristic. This energy-conservation characteristic provides the “noninvasive” nature
desirable for clinical imaging. In our study, we will evaluate the clinical applications of
optical skin biopsy using harmonic generation microscopy.
Observational
Observational Model: Defined Population, Observational Model: Natural History, Time Perspective: Cross-Sectional, Time Perspective: Retrospective/Prospective
Wen-jeng Lee, M.D.
Study Director
National Taiwan University Hospital
Taiwan: Department of Health
9361700212
NCT00154921
January 2004
December 2007
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