Reflectance confocal microscopy

Our new reflectance confocal microscopy (RCM), VivaScope® 1500 have arrived at the Department of Dermatology, Westmead Hospital this week. We are proud to be one of the few institutions in Sydney to have a RCM.
The term confocal in RCM refers to the CONjugate relationship between the FOCAL planes in which the tissue sample and the machine’s pinhole are located. The RCM can image structures within the epidermis, papillary dermis and the reticular dermis. Also, it can be used to measure the thickness of the individual layers of the epidermis and observe density changes in the papillary and reticular dermis. Furthermore, it can be used to identify inflammatory infiltrates in conditions such as eczema as well as atypical structures in skin cancers.
We have spent two full days receiving official training from Calibre on how to use this delicate machine. It was an enlightening experience to learn how to capture images with the machine and make technology-savvy 3D movies with it.
We are extremely excited to be using the RCM for some of our dermatology clinics, conduct new research with it and to have the RCM complementing our existing research projects!