Future Looks Bright For Non-Invasive Diagnosis Of Skin Cancer; Study Shows Novel Light Device Detects Cancerous Lesions From Nor...( Researchers ...),Health

Researchers report promising results for the viability of a portable, handheld device using a specialized light technique that may enhance the differential diagnosis of non-melanoma skin cancers, inflamed scar tissue and normal skin in vivo. Recently published in "Lasers in Surgery and Medicine" (August 2008 issue), the peer-reviewed professional journal of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery, the retrospective study discussed the advantages of using Raman microspectroscopy to examine and classify pathologic skin cells.

Wausau, Wisconsin (PRWEB) November 17, 2008 -- Researchers report promising results for the viability of a portable, handheld device using a specialized light technique that may enhance the differential diagnosis of non-melanoma skin cancers, inflamed scar tissue and normal skin in vivo. Recently published in "Lasers in Surgery and Medicine" (August 2008 issue), the peer-reviewed professional journal of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery, the retrospective study discussed the advantages of using Raman microspectroscopy to examine and classify pathologic skin cells.
   
In his article entitled "In Vivo Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer Diagnosis Using Raman Microspectroscopy," author Chad A. Lieber, PhD, a biomedical engineer and head of the bio-optics laboratory at CHOC Research Institute, Children's Hospital of Orange County, Orange, CA, explains how his research team (from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN) utilized the Raman technique to noninvasively classify nonmelanoma skin cancers.
   
According to Dr. Lieber, Raman spectroscopy is an optical technique that probes the vibrational activity of chemical bonds using interactions with laser light. As such, each molecule has a spectral "fingerprint" characteristic of its modes of vibration. In medical diagnostics,
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