Ultrasound backscatter microscope for skin imaging

There is a growing interest in high resolution, subsurface imaging of cutaneous tissues using higher frequency ultrasound. Some of the possible applications of higher frequency skin imaging include tumour staging, boundary definition, and studies of the response of tumours to therapy, investigations of inflammatory skin conditions such as psoriasis and eczema, and basic studies of skin aging, sun damage and the effects of irritants. Investigation of these areas is quite new, and the role of ultrasound skin imaging is continuing to evolve. In this paper, a realtime ultrasound backscatter microscope (UBM) for skin imaging is described which operates in the 40-100 MHz range, providing resolution down to 30 μm. This imaging system should prove useful in determining the margins of small skin lesions, and in obtaining precise, in-vivo skin thickness measurements in order to characterize nonmalignant skin disease. Example images of normal skin and malignant melanoma illustrate the imaging potential of this system