In vivo skin imaging and laser therapy observation with ultrahigh-resolution optical coherence tomography

The diagnosis and treatment of dermatological diseases has always been valued, and the laser therapy is one of the main methods for the treatment of skin diseases. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a non-invasive, label-free, high-resolution and high-speed imaging technique, which is very suitable as a diagnostic tool in dermatology. In this study, we developed an ultrahigh-resolution OCT system (UHR-OCT), with below 2 µm in both axial and lateral resolution in tissue. The system is implemented to observe skin microstructure and layering, and to investigate postoperative follow-up of laser therapy. The results show that the developed UHR-OCT system can clearly distinguish the microstructure and layering of the skin, meaning that the system is well-suitable for skin diagnosis. In addition, we also investigated the photodamage such as LIOB in the tracking of laser treatment, which confirmed the value of UHR-OCT system in dermatology and laser treatment.