Through the looking glass: Basics and principles of reflectance confocal microscopy

Handheld reflectance confocal microscopy, dermatoscopy and histopathological correlation of common inflammatory balanitis

“…Dermatoscopy is a widely used technique that, in addition to pigmented lesions, has been reported to be a useful tool also in the diagnosis of some male genital disorders . RCM is a recent tool that provides real‐time, en face imaging of the epidermis and upper dermis (maximal imaging depth ~250 μm) with high resolution close to conventional histopathology . In vivo RCM instruments are currently available as “wide probe” device (VivaScope 1500 ® , maximal field of view 8 mm × 8 mm, horizontal resolution <1.25 μm, vertical resolution <5 μm), which requires a connection to the skin through a metal ring and a special adhesive tape to keep the tissue still during the imaging capture (that lasts a few minutes) and “handheld” device (VivaScope 3000 ® , maximal field of view 1 mm × 1 mm, horizontal and vertical resolution comparable to that of the wide probe), which provides real time images, does not require any adhesive window and, thanks to its ergonomic design, results particularly useful for the study of difficult anatomical sites…”

Use of reflectance confocal microscopy to evaluate 5‐fluorouracil 0.5%/salicylic acid 10% in the field‐directed treatment of subclinical lesions of actinic keratosis: subanalysis of a Phase III, randomized, double‐blind, vehicle‐controlled trial

“…3 A case-series study reported complete clearance of clinical and subclinical lesions in six patients receiving topical, fielddirected 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) 0.5%/salicylic acid 10%, observed using reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM). 9 In clinical and subclinical AK lesions, RCM can detect morphological features, allowing a non-invasive technique for the diagnosis and detection of subclinical lesions. 9 In clinical and subclinical AK lesions, RCM can detect morphological features, allowing a non-invasive technique for the diagnosis and detection of subclinical lesions.…”

Use of Digitally Stained Multimodal Confocal Mosaic Images to Screen for Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer

“…2-4 However, the clinical implementation of confocal microscopy is impeded in part by differences between traditional grayscale confocal images and histopathologic slides requiring physician retraining for accurate interpretation. 3,5-8 …”