Electrical Characterization of Basal Cell Carcinoma Using a Handheld Electrical Impedance Dermography Device

Sensitive, objective, and easily applied methods for evaluating skin lesions are needed to improve diagnostic accuracy. In this study, we evaluated whether a developed noninvasive electrical impedance dermography device URSKIN could serve this purpose. In this pilot study, 17 subjects with subsequently confirmed basal cell carcinoma underwent four-electrode electrical impedance dermography measurements to assess the electrical properties of basal cell carcinoma and adjacent normal skin. A linear mixed-effects model with random intercept and slope terms was used for the analysis of multifrequency values in longitudinal and transverse directions. A significant difference in the intercept of frequency trajectories was observed for the longitudinal conductivity of 0.13 siemens/m (P < 0.001, 95% confidence interval = 0.10–0.16), transverse conductivity of 0.06 siemens/m (P < 0.001, 95% confidence interval = 0.05–0.07), longitudinal relative permittivity (dimensionless) of 203,742 (P < 0.001, 95% confidence interval = 180,292–227,191), and transverse relative permittivity (dimensionless) of 86,894 (P < 0.001, 95% confidence interval = 81,549 – 92,238). Thus, our device detected significant electrical differences between basal cell carcinoma and adjacent normal skin. Given these preliminary performance metrics and the ease of use, this technology merits further study to establish its value in facilitating the clinical diagnosis of skin cancers.