Evaluating That Thing On Your Skin Just Got a Whole Lot Easier

BOSTON, Nov. 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Olay^® facial cream's famous motto was "Love the skin you're in." We should, since our largest organ does so much for us. Skin acts as a waterproof insulating shield, guarding the body against extremes of temperature, damaging sunlight and harmful chemicals. It exudes antibacterial substances that prevent infection, and manufactures vitamin D for converting calcium into healthy bones. Skin is also a huge sensor, packed with nerves for keeping the brain in touch with the outside world. But loving the skin we're in is actually easier said than done, because of the ever-present possibility of skin cancer. 

This is an understandable concern, with the American Cancer Society reporting there are more than 3.5 million skin cancers diagnosed each year—more than all other cancers combined. This makes us leery of every suspicious lump, mole, skin tag or discoloration on the body. We also worry that our doctor might overlook a potentially cancerous lesion; or if not, that the biopsy will be painful and leave us with a visible scar. Scarring does happen, even if that suspicious lesion is benign.

Is there an answer to this all-too-prevalent dilemma?

Now there is, thanks to a remarkable advance in medical instrumentation. Based in Boston and Rochester, Caliber Imaging & Diagnostics (Caliber I.D.) is a leader in noninvasive optical biopsies—i.e., its technology can capture high-resolution images providing doctors with cellular views at varying depths under the skin, enabling an accurate real-time diagnosis. Caliber I.D. has created and is already marketing a suite of its FDA-cleared devices, known as VivaScope^® confocal imaging systems.

Since there is no cutting involved with VivaScope, there is also no possibility of infection or scarring. Obtaining an image takes just a few minutes so the doctor can make a determination at the bedside, or the image can be transferred within minutes through the company's VivaNet^® system, so that a pathologist can diagnose it remotely.

Enthusiastic users include prestigious hospitals and many other leading academic institutions, private physicians' practices and Fortune 500 companies. As CEO L. Michael Hone explains, "The VivaScopes allow physicians to nondestructively examine tissue to determine whether it is responding to therapy; or, when surgery has been performed, to quickly and efficiently examine the skin surrounding the excised cancerous lesion."

Hone adds, "Consult your healthcare provider immediately when you spot anything you think might be questionable. When you see your doctor, you might want to ask if he or she has a VivaScope, the noninvasive way to biopsy your skin."  

For more on this major advance, visit www.caliberid.com, who paid for the writing and dissemination of this release.

Contact: Laura Radocaj, Dian Griesel Int'l., 212.825.3210

SOURCE Caliber I.D.