Dermoscopy, also known as epidermal transillumination microscopy, is a non-invasive, fast and easy means of examining the skin, which has a wide range of applications and plays an important role especially in different areas of dermatology. Dermoscopy has significant advantages in the diagnosis of skin tumours. By observing the pigmentation, blood vessels, texture and other features of the skin surface, doctors can make preliminary judgement on the goodness or badness of the tumour; by analysing the inflammatory manifestations of the skin such as erythema, oedema, and pustules through the dermoscopy, doctors can diagnose a wide range of inflammatory skin diseases, such as psoriasis, eczema, and so on. Dermoscopy can also assist in the observation and diagnosis of hair diseases, nail diseases and vascular diseases.

The Role of Dermoscopy in the Diagnosis of Skin Cancer
Melanoma is a highly malignant tumour and early detection and treatment is essential to improve patient survival. By magnifying the surface of the skin 10 to 20 times, dermoscopy is able to clearly show the fine structures of melanoma, such as irregular pigment networks or abnormal blood vessel patterns. These features are important in differentiating melanoma from other benign lesions.
Non-melanoma skin cancers mainly include the types of squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma. These skin cancers usually show symptoms such as gradual enlargement of skin lesions, rough or scaly surface, uneven colour, bleeding or discharge, and painless ulcers.
Dermoscopy can assist the doctor in determining the benign or malignant nature of the lesion. Malignant lesions usually have abnormal morphological features, such as cellular anisotropy and increased nuclear division, whereas benign lesions usually have good cellular differentiation and cellular morphology similar to that of normal tissue.

Dermoscopy in Inflammatory Skin Diseases
Psoriasis is a common inflammatory skin disease, which is characterised dermoscopically by evenly distributed punctate, globular, circumscribed or hairpin-like blood vessels on a bright red background with diffuse white scales. Eczema is an inflammatory skin reaction with intense itching caused by a variety of internal and external factors. Under dermoscopy, the features of eczema include small flakes or fine dots of bleeding, follicular papules, oozing, and crusting.
Dermoscopy can also be used to diagnose a variety of other inflammatory skin conditions, such as pityriasis rosea and lichen planus. Pityriasis rosea presents with peripheral white scales on a yellow background (collar sign) and clustered distribution of punctate blood vessels. Lichen planus shows pearly white, yellow or bluish-white Wickham’s stripe, which may be reticular in form.

The Role of Dermoscopy in the Diagnosis of Vascular Lesions
For specific types of vascular tumours, such as spider nevus or capillary dilatation, there are typical morphological features in dermoscopy. For example, a spider nevus may present dermoscopically with a small red spot in the centre, surrounded by many tiny red blood filaments radiating in the shape of a spider’s web. Through dermoscopy, the doctor can also clearly observe the morphology and distribution of capillaries, so as to assess the degree and extent of capillary dilatation.
Dermoscopy also plays an important role in the differential diagnosis of vascular tumours. Vascular tumours include various types, such as hemangiomas and angiofibromas. Angiofibromas appear dermoscopically as nodules or masses on the skin surface with well-defined borders.

The Use of Dermoscopy in Dermatological Treatments
IBOOLO, as a professional dermatoscope brand, has launched different series of dermatoscopes to meet the requirements of different groups of people, and DE-3100 and DE-4100, as the high-end optical dermatoscopes of IBOOLO, play an important role in dermatological treatments, especially for the evaluation and planning of the treatment results.
IBOOLO dermatoscopes can reflect the colour and structural characteristics of the epidermis and dermal papillary layer by means of the optical magnification principle, thus assisting in the diagnosis of a wide range of skin diseases. By urging patients to have regular dermoscopy examinations, doctors can achieve dynamic follow-up of skin damage. In this process, doctors can readily determine the effectiveness of treatment and adjust the treatment plan according to changes in the condition. For example, in chloasma treatment, a skin image analysis system can be used to analyse the dermoscopic images and calculate the degree of regression and colour change of the pigmented area after treatment to determine the efficacy of the treatment.

Standardised Procedure for Dermoscopy
If you would like to use the IBOOLO Dermatoscope to perform a dermatoscopic examination, then take a look at the tutorial below.
When choosing an IBOOLO dermatoscope for a full-body skin examination, first clean the surface of the skin to be examined, removing oil, make-up, and other reflective substances. Disinfect the dermatoscope lens and other examination instruments to ensure sterility. Beginning with the head, gradually work your way down to examine the skin of the entire body, noting the condition of the skin in each area. For large skin areas, a zonal examination method can be used to avoid missing them. If a dermoscopic examination of a specific area is desired, the process is the same.
Another major point of interest during the examination is focusing and choosing the distance at which to look. both the DE-3100 and DE-4100 dermatoscopes can be used either close to the skin or at a distance from the area under observation. For patients with ulcerated or inflamed lesions, the latter may be more appropriate. This provides maximum comfort for the patient.
Both the DE-3100 and DE-4100 models can be connected to a mobile phone, which makes it possible to save dermatoscopic images with the mobile phone camera. By comparing dermatoscopic images on a regular basis, the doctor can visualise the changes in the lesions and make a more rational treatment plan.