Non Invasive Diagnostic Tool to Test Moles

Non Invasive Diagnostic Tool to Test Moles Dr. Travis Stork: We’re here with dermatologist Dr. Kelly Nelson who’s going to tell us all about a new life saving technology. She’s got it here and we’re going to try it out on me. So, thank you Dr. Nelson for joining us. Dr. Kelly Nelson: No, it’s my pleasure. Dr. Travis Stork: So, I am really excited about this because I'm a guy who have a lot of moles and you often worry about if they could be cancerous or not. So, how does this technology work in terms of determining whether a mole maybe cancerous? Dr. Kelly Nelson: Right. So as you know Travis, up until now, the only way we’ve been able to determine if something is a concern or not is to take a biopsy of it or a sample by numbing the skin, cutting into the skin. People are really nervous about that, who wouldn’t be? Dr. Travis Stork: Yeah, who wants that if you don’t need it? Dr. Kelly Nelson: Exactly. So, this microscope uses a laser light to look into the skin, almost like a camera that just lets us see what’s going on. Dr. Travis Stork: So, I’ve got a few moles on my back. They’ve been growing a little bit and they look okay to me but is this a good technology for those and if so, should we do it real time? Dr. Kelly Nelson: I think we should. Let’s do it. Dr. Travis Stork: All right. So, I got to take my shirt off first. Dr. Kelly Nelson: All right, so I'm just going to take a good look at your back here and I see that you do have several moles. So, what I'm going to do, I'm just going to attach this little ring to your skin. It’s not going to hurt at all. I’ll put a little drop of mineral oil on your skin. So, that goes in just like that. So then, this just links right in just like that. The good thing about the imaging is that it doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t destroy any tissue but it let us give an idea of what’s going on underneath the skin surface. This is the very top layer of your skin. Dr. Travis Stork: Okay. Dr. Kelly Nelson: We can see normal skin cells. We’re going to go a little bit deeper. This is a very normal architecture that we can see. Dr. Travis Stork: You see those skin cells everyone? Very cool. Dr. Kelly Nelson: You can actually see some blood flow right through here. Do you see? Dr. Travis Stork: Very subtle but I see it. Dr. Kelly Nelson: It’s just a little bit, very subtle and that’s actually really encouraging. In some skin cancers, we see very rapid blood flow but I'm not seeing anything that looks concerning at all. Dr. Travis Stork: Actually, I think we have what you would see with a melanoma. Dr. Kelly Nelson: Exactly. We have a good picture of a skin cancer that has very rapid blood flow and you can tell that it looks incredibly different than what we can see here. This is very organized, very symmetric in terms of its distribution, so this looks absolutely perfect. Dr. Travis Stork: And what you could do if you saw something turning then you would move ahead with the biopsies, is that right? Dr. Kelly Nelson: Exactly, but if you see something reassuring like this, you can avoid biopsy. So, the patient doesn’t have to go through that painful procedure and then the wait of not knowing what the results will show. Dr. Travis Stork: Well, I love this device. Let’s really quickly remind everyone at home what to worry about when it comes to moles. Dr. Kelly Nelson: Exactly. So, with moles, we talked about the A, B, C, D, Es but the most important is E or Evolution. So, if you have a mole that’s changing, that’s something that should be taken very seriously. And so, if you do experience some mole that’s changing, you should really get to a doctor, either you’re regular doctor or a dermatologist who can take a closure look at it and sort out what’s going on with that mole. Dr. Travis Stork: And what’s great? This is absolutely pain free -- how’d I do as a patient, okay? Thank you so very much. Dr. Kelly Nelson: No, it’s my pleasure.