Cutaneous neurofibromas (cNF) appear commonly in neurofibromatosis type I (NF1) patients. cNFs usually appear in the skin at puberty and proliferate with increasing numbers and sizes throughout life. If cNFs can be detected and treated in their nascent stage, patient’s quality of life can be improved. To detect early-stage cNF, we have employed spatial frequency domain imaging (SFDI) and optical coherence tomography (OCT). SFDI has been applied to screen large skin areas on eleven cNF subjects. Suspect lesions invisible to the unaided eye but detected using SFDI were imaged with OCT to observe lesion microstructure. Three lesions were biopsied to compare with SFDI and OCT images. Suspect nascent cNFs which are invisible to the unaided eye were detected as low optical scattering regions in all patients. Large area screening using SFDI confirmed scattering contrast between the suspect nascent cNF and the surrounding uninvolved skin. Abnormal disc-shaped structures with reduced scattering regions detected by SFDI were also observed in OCT cross-sections.
Pneumatic control devices were constructed to apply negative pressure on targeted human skin areas to increase or decrease blood flow for improving laser therapy. The effect of pneumatic control on blood flow in a cutaneous skin region was evaluated using optical coherence tomography-angiography (OCT-A). Dynamic changes in blood flow under the application of negative pressure to the dorsal hand and forearm skin were confirmed in acquired OCT-A images. We also observed the device size-dependent difference in blood flow change. Results suggest the feasibility of bi-directional blood flow control using a pneumatic control device.
A major constraint in photomedicine is the scattering of photons within tissue, which can limit the penetration of light to reach target structures such as a tumor. Laser-induced shockwaves could offer a potential approach to mitigate this constraint by modifying the optical scattering properties of tissue and re-directing the light to targeted regions. Preliminary results in a skin phantom suggest that laser-induced shockwaves can alter optical characteristics of a turbid medium, and subsequently, induce changes in light propagation.
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