Dual modality optical imaging approach for real-time assessment of skin burns

A dual modality optical imaging approach based on high-resolution reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM) and optical coherence tomography (OCT) is proposed for assessing skin burns gravity. The preliminary testing of this approach has been performed on the skin of volunteers with burn scars and on animal tissue specimens. The initial results show that these two optical technologies have complementary capabilities that can offer the clinician a set of clinically comprehensive parameters: OCT helps to visualize deeper burn injuries and possibly quantify collagen destruction by measuring skin birefringence, while RCM provides submicron details of the integrity of the epidermal layer and identifies the presence of the superficial blood flow. Therefore, the combination of these two technologies within the same instrument may provide a more comprehensive set of parameters that may help clinicians to more objectively and noninvasively assess burn injury gravity by determining tissue structural integrity and viability.