Abstract

Non-invasive, rapid and robust diagnostic techniques for clinical screening of tumors located in arbitrary areas of the human body are in demand. To address this challenge, we analyzed the feasibility of vessel mapping by means of time-lapse digital microscopy for assessing vascular patterns within malignant and benign tumors. The proposed hardware and software were approved in a clinical study involving 30 patients with tumors located in legs, torso, arms, and head. High-contrast and detailed vessel maps within both benign and malignant tumors were obtained. We demonstrated that capillary maps are consistent and can be interpreted using well-established dermoscopic criteria for the vascular morphology. Vessel mapping provides valuable details, which may not be available in dermoscopic images and can aid in determining whether a tumor is benign or malignant. We believe that the proposed approach may become a valuable tool in the preliminary cancer diagnosis and is suitable for large-scale screening.