Improving Clinical Diagnosis of Melanocytic Skin Lesions by Raman Spectroscopy

High-quality Raman signals from melanocytic lesions compatible with a possible clinical application have not been demonstrated yet. The objectives of the work described in this thesis were:
I: The development of a Raman spectroscopic prototype for objective and fast assessment of melanocytic skin lesions clinically suspicious for melanoma;
II: Identification of the main spectroscopic features of melanoma and benign melanocytic lesions suspicious for melanoma;
III: Assessment of the feasibility of Raman spectroscopy as an adjunct technique to improve clinical diagnosis of melanocytic skin lesions.