In-vivo diagnosis of chemically induced melanoma in an animal model using UV-visible and NIR elastic-scattering spectroscopy: preliminary testing

Elastic light scattering spectroscopy (ESS) has the potential to provide spectra that contain both morphological and chromophore information from tissue. We report on a preliminary study of this technique, with the hope of developing a method for diagnosis of highly-pigmented skin lesions, commonly associated with skin cancer. Four opossums were treated with dimethylbenz(a)anthracene to induce both malignant melanoma and benign pigmented lesions. Skin lesions were examined in vivo using both UV-visible and near infrared ESS, with wavelength ranges of 330 - 900 nm and 900 - 1700 nm, respectively. Both portable systems used identical fiber-optic probe geometry throughout all of the measurements. The core diameters for illuminating and collecting fibers were 400 and 200 micrometers , respectively, with center-to-center separation of 350 micrometers . The probe was placed in optical contact with the tissue under investigation. Biopsies from lesions were analyzed spectral correlation for 11/13 lesions. The NIR-ESS correlated well with 12/13 lesions correctly.