Recent advances in Raman spectroscopy for skin diagnosis

Abstract

The skin is the largest organ in humans. It comprises about 16% of our body. Many diseases originate from the skin, including acne vulgaris, skin cancer, fungal skin disease, etc. As a common skin cancer in China, melanoma alone grows at year rate of nearly 4%. Therefore, it is crucial to develop an objective, reliable, accurate, non-invasive, and easy-to-use diagnostic method for skin diseases to support clinical decision-making. Raman spectroscopy is a highly specific imaging technique, which is sensitive, even to the single-cell level in skin diagnosis. Raman spectroscopy provides a pattern of signals with narrow bandwidths, making it a common and essential tool for researching individual characteristics of skin cells. Raman spectroscopy already has a number of clinical applications, including in thyroid, cervical and colorectal cancer. This review will introduce the advantages and recent developments in Raman spectroscopy, before focusing on the advances in skin diagnosis, including the advantages, methods, results, analysis, and notifications. Finally, we discuss the current limitations and future progress of Raman spectroscopy in the context of skin diagnosis.

From Vibrations to Visions: Raman Spectroscopy’s Impact on Skin Cancer Diagnostics

“…In a specific investigation, a real-time Raman spectroscopy system was deployed to ap-praise benign and malignant skin lesions across a multitude of patients, markedly aiding in the prompt and accurate diagnosis of skin cancer and furnishing vital insights into the molecular deviations linked to malignancies [69]. Moreover, the inception of SERS has surfaced with high sensitivity and spectral resolution, although it encounters hurdles such as inadequate molecular generality and relatively subpar reproducibility [70]. The incessant evolution of Raman spectroscopy methodologies in tandem with imaging modalities is catalyzing the transition from bench to bedside, inching the technology closer to clinical applicability [71].…”

“…There is also an emphasis on exploring patientspecific analyses by tailoring diagnostic approaches to individual patients, potentially providing more personalized diagnostic insights. The utilization of RS for the longitudinal monitoring of skin lesions over time to observe disease progression or regression and to monitor the response to treatment is considered a beneficial approach [70,127].…”

Wound Microenvironment Self-Adjusting Hydrogels with Thermo-Sensitivity for Promoting Diabetic Wound Healing

“…The skin, being the largest organ in the body, is the first line of defense against injury and microbial invasion [1,2]. However, the structure and function of the skin can be affected by cuts, burns, surgical incisions or diabetes [3].…”