Abstract
Reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) is a useful diagnostic non-invasive tool for skin tumours and inflammatory diseases.
In this chapter, a review of the history of RCM from its discovery to nowadays is done, and an explanation of its main physical principles is given in order to enable the dermatologist to understand the background of the technique and reach a better interpretation of the images.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Minsky M. Memoir on inventing the confocal scanning microscope. Scanning. 1988;10(4):128–38.
Egger MD, Petran M. New reflected-light microscope for viewing unstained brain and ganglion cells. Science. 1967;157(3786):305–7.
Rajadhyaksha M, Grossman M, Esterowitz D, Webb RH, Anderson RR. In vivo confocal scanning laser microscopy of human skin: Melanin provides strong contrast. J Invest Dermatol. 1995;104(6):946–52.
Larson B, Rajadhyaksha M, Abeytunge S. Fundamentals of reflectance confocal microscopy. In: González S, editor. Reflectance confocal microscopy of cutaneous tumors. 2nd ed. CRC Press; 2017. p. 2–10.
Rajadhyaksha M, González S, Zavislan JM, Anderson RR, Webb RH. In vivo confocal scanning laser microscopy of human skin II: Advances in instrumentation and comparison with histology. J Invest Dermatol. 1999;113(3):293–303.
Sauermann K, Clemann S, Jaspers S, et al. Age related changes of human skin investigated with histometric measurements by confocal laser scanning microscopy in vivo. Skin Res Technol. 2002;8:52–6.
Rajadhyaksha M, Gonzalez S, Zavislan JM. Detectability of contrast agents for confocal reflectance imaging of skin and microcirculation. J Biomed Opt. 2004;9(2):323–31.
Tannous Z, Torres A, González S. In vivo real-time confocal reflectance microscopy: a noninvasive guide for Mohs micrographic surgery facilitated by aluminum chloride, an excellent contrast enhancer. Dermatologic Surg. 2003;29(8):839–46.
Karen JK, Gareau DS, Dusza SW, Tudisco M, Rajadhyaksha M, Nehal KS. Detection of basal cell carcinomas in Mohs excisions with fluorescence confocal mosaicing microscopy. Br J Dermatol. 2009;160(6):1242–50.
Kolm I, Braun RP. How reflectance confocal microscopy works. In: Hofmann-Wellenhof R, Pellacani G, Malvehy J, Peter Soyer H, editors. Reflectance confocal microscopy for skin diseases: Springer-Verlag; 2012. p. 8.
Glazowski C. Optimal detection pinhole for lowering speckle noise while maintaining adequate optical sectioning in confocal reflectance microscopes. J Biomed Opt. 2012;17(8):085001.
Vitkin IA, Woolsey J, Wilson BC, Anderson RR. Optical and thermal characterization of natural (Sepia officinalis) Melanin. Photochem Photobiol. 1994;59(4):455–62.
Gareau DS, Patel YG, Rajadhyaksha M. Basic principles of reflectance confocal microscopy. In: González S, Gill M, Halpern AC, editors. Reflectance confocal miscroscopy of cutaneous tumors. An atlas with clinical, dermoscopic and histological correlations. London: Informa Healthcare; 2008. p. 1–7.
Jonasson H, Fredriksson I, Bergstrand S, Östgren CJ, Larsson M, Strömberg T. In vivo characterization of light scattering properties of human skin in the 475- to 850-nm wavelength range in a Swedish cohort. J Biomed Opt. 2018;23(12):1–6.
Wurm EMT, Kolm I, Ahlgrimm-Siess V. A hands-on guide to confocal imaging. In: Hofmann-Wellenhof R, Pellacani G, Malvehy J, Soyer HP, editors. Reflectance confocal microscopy for skin diseases. Berlin: Springer; 2012. p. 11–23.
Wurm EMT, Kolm I, Ahlgrimm-Siess V. A hands-on guide to confocal imaging. In: Hofmann-Wellenhof R, Pellacani G, Malvehy J, Soyer HP, editors. Reflectance confocal microscopy for skin diseases. Berlin: Springer; 2012. p. 12.
Witkowski AM, Łudzik J, Arginelli F, Bassoli S, Benati E, Casari A, et al. Improving diagnostic sensitivity of combined dermoscopy and reflectance confocal microscopy imaging through double reader concordance evaluation in telemedicine settings: a retrospective study of 1000 equivocal cases. PLoS One. 2017;12(11):e0187748.
Łudzik J, Witkowski AM, Roterman-Konieczna I, Bassoli S, Farnetani F, Pellacani G. Improving diagnostic accuracy of dermoscopically equivocal pink cutaneous lesions with reflectance confocal microscopy in telemedicine settings: double reader concordance evaluation of 316 cases. PLoS One. 2016;11(9):e0162495.
Freeman EE, Semeere A, Osman H, Peterson G, Rajadhyaksha M, González S, et al. Smartphone confocal microscopy for imaging cellular structures in human skin in vivo. Biomed Opt Express. 2018;9(4):1906–15.
Sahu A, Yélamos O, Iftimia N, Cordova M, Alessi-Fox C, Gill M, et al. Evaluation of a combined reflectance confocal microscopy-optical coherence tomography device for detection and depth assessment of basal cell carcinoma. JAMA Dermatol. 2018;154(10):1175–83.
Edwards SJ, Osei-Assibey G, Patalay R, Wakefield V, Karner C. Diagnostic accuracy of reflectance confocal microscopy using VivaScope for detecting and monitoring skin lesions: a systematic review. Clin Exp Dermatol. 2017;42(3):266–75.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Encabo, B., Segurado, G., González, S. (2020). History and Fundamentals of Reflectance Confocal Microscopy. In: Fimiani, M., Rubegni, P., Cinotti, E. (eds) Technology in Practical Dermatology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45351-0_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-45351-0_12
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-45350-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-45351-0
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)