New device shows potential for melanoma imaging improvements

A team of engineers and researchers at Washington University have created a handheld device that could revolutionise the treatment and diagnosis of melanoma.

Published in the journal Optics Letters, the device incorporates lasers and sound waves and is the first sensor that can be used directly on a patient to accurately measure how deep a melanoma tumour extends into the skin.

It works by shining a laser beam into the skin at the site of a tumour, which is absorbed by the skin pigment melanin and transferred into high-frequency acoustic waves. Since tumour tissue contains more melanin than healthy skin cells, the acoustic waves can be used to map the growth at a high resolution.

This technique potentially circumvents the need for biopsies and has been shown to be effective on both artificial and live tumours. It could be used to improve how doctors plan and prepare for surgeries, as well as aiding both diagnosis and prognosis.

Engineer Lihong Wang, a co-author on the report, said: "Any type of tissue diagnosis at this point in time requires taking tissue out of the person and processing it and looking at it under the microscope."

Melanoma is a relatively rare cancer type, but it is becoming more common, with almost 13,000 new cases diagnosed each year in the UK at the moment.