First clinical experience with a novel optical-ultrasound imaging device on various skin pathologies

Objectives: A compact handheld skin ultrasound imaging device has been developed that uses co-registered optical and ultrasound imaging to provide diagnostic information about the full skin depth and lesions encountered therein. The aim of the current work is to present the first clinical results of the device. Using additional photographic, dermoscopic and ultrasonic images as reference, the images from the device are assessed in terms of the detectability of the skin layer boundaries (between the epidermis, dermis, and subcutis), and in terms of image features produced by common skin lesions. Methods: Combined optical-ultrasonic recordings of various types of common skin lesions (melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, keratosis, dermatofibroma, naevus, dermatitis, psoriasis) were taken with the device (N = 53) and compared with images from a reference portable skin ultrasound imager. The investigator and two additional independent experts evaluated and compared the images in terms of skin structure detectability and skin lesion features. Results: Skin structure detectability was unanimously over 90 % for epidermis, dermis and lesion. Morphological and echogenicity information observed for melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, keratoses, dermatofibroma, naevi, atopic dermatitis, psoriasis were found consistent with those of the reference ultrasound device and relevant ultrasound images in the literature. Conclusions: The presented device is able to obtain simultaneous in-vivo optical and ultrasound images of common skin lesions. This has the potential to provide relevant information in a number of settings to be investigated in the future, including preoperative planning of skin cancer treatment.