Basal Cell Carcinoma lesions characterization with ultrasound

Quantitative ultrasounds were applied for the detection and assessment of skin lesions. 30MHz ultrasonic scanner was used to collect B-scan images together with appropriate RF echoes from the pathological and healthy skin regions of patients with diagnosed Basal Cell Carcinoma (BCC) and precancerous states. The RF data were processed for the attenuation coefficient and statistics assessment (K distribution and effective number of scatterers - M). For patients with BCC the attenuation coefficient was significantly higher than for the healthy subjects. Also, precancerous skin lesions revealed increased attenuation. The averaged M parameter for cancer lesions was significantly lower than for precancerous states and healthy skin. Similar results were obtained from numerical simulations of the ultrasonic echoes scattered in skin and skin lesions.