# 7th Annual Workshop on Confocal Microscopy for Cutaneous Diagnostics

> **NIH NIH R13** · SLOAN-KETTERING INST CAN RESEARCH · 2024 · $8,000

## Abstract

Project Summary
Skin cancers are the most common cancers in the U.S and often require biopsy for histopathology
confirmation. However, ~70% of biopsies yield benign findings, representing an unnecessary healthcare
burden. Biopsies are also invasive and associated with complications such as bleeding, infections, and scars,
and histopathologic analysis is time-consuming, delaying treatment.
Confocal microscopy (CM) images skin at cellular resolution. Two CM techniques are used to evaluate skin
lesions: reflectance CM (RCM), which is performed noninvasively on intact skin, and ex vivo CM (EVCM),
which allows rapid imaging of fresh ex vivo tissues without time-consuming tissue processing. RCM has better
sensitivity (90–94%) and specificity (82–85%) for skin cancer diagnoses compared with dermoscopy and
reduces benign biopsies by ~75%. Likewise, EVCM can detect residual carcinoma in surgical margins with
high sensitivity of 96.6%% and specificity of 89.2%.
These images are challenging for novices to read, posing a major barrier to their clinical adoption. This is
compounded by a lack of experts and teaching resources in this field. To overcome this barrier, we have
created a CME-accredited Annual Workshop on Confocal Microscopy for Cutaneous Diagnostics at Memorial
Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK). While the workshop focuses on CM, we will also familiarize attendees
with advances in CM, including multimodal techniques such as full-field optical coherence tomography (FF-
OCT), line-field confocal (LC-OCT), and RCM-OCT. The 2024 two-day workshop will be presented in person
and virtually. We have gathered a world-renowned faculty with expertise in this field and anticipate global
participation based on our previous 6 workshops. The workshop will be interactive, including lectures, hands-
on image acquisition, case discussions, and competitive quizzes. R13 funds will be used to provide
scholarships to attendees from underrepresented groups, women, minorities, and individuals with disabilities to
attend the workshop and undertake an observership at MSK. We will further promote participation by these
groups through our marketing and outreach efforts and by ensuring physical and virtual accessibility. The
workshop’s learning objectives are to: (a) familiarize with underlying optical principles and associated
terminology, (b) recognize features of neoplastic and inflammatory skin lesions, (c) develop skills in acquiring
images, (d) understand to integrate CM in clinical and surgical workflows, and (e) gain familiarity and
applications of novel multi-modal devices. The overall goal of the workshop is to encourage clinicians,
especially those from underrepresented backgrounds, to integrate CM and multimodal devices into clinics.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10998761
- **Project number:** 1R13CA294694-01
- **Recipient organization:** SLOAN-KETTERING INST CAN RESEARCH
- **Principal Investigator:** Manu Jain
- **Activity code:** R13 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $8,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-08-01 → 2025-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10998761

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10998761, 7th Annual Workshop on Confocal Microscopy for Cutaneous Diagnostics (1R13CA294694-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10998761. Licensed CC0.

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