Pilot Study of Raman Spectroscopic Imaging for Skin Cancer

Summary

The goal of this observational study is to find out if Raman Spectroscopy, a type of imaging, can be used to determine the size of skin cancer tumors. The main question it aims to answer is: -Can Raman Spectroscopy help figure out how far a tumor spreads? This study will take measurements using laser light from an experimental, handheld probe by lightly touching the skin.

Detailed description

Radiation therapy is an alternative to surgery for localized tumors with excellent tumor control and cosmetic outcome. Raman Spectroscopy has potential to be a useful non-invasive, non-destructive, real-time, in-vivo tool for differentiation of cancerous vs. non-cancerous tissues. With this knowledge and future studies, this will ultimately guide skin brachytherapy more accurately and avoid unnecessary radiation to cosmetically and functionally important tissues including eyelid, nose, lips or skin folds. The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of Raman Spectroscopy to identify microscopic infiltration extent of skin cancer beyond grossly visible tumor, using artificial intelligence methods of supervised and un-supervised machine learning algorithms, including pattern recognition, convolutional neural networks, k-means clustering and principal component analysis.

Arms & interventions

• DeviceRaman Spectroscopy handheld probe (EmVision, FL, USA)

  The probe is approximately the size of a pen or pencil. The handheld probe is connected to the laser source using a cable. The probe is placed in light contact with the skin. The features of the laser light after it bounces off the skin is collected. This measurement can allow us to see tissue characteristics. This is a single session that will take approximately 15 minutes.

• DeviceRaman Spectroscopy laser source (Hubner Photonics Inc, CA, USA)

  This light source will create the laser light that will pass through the cable and through the handheld probe onto the skin.

Outcome measures

Eligibility criteria