Automated epiluminescence microscopy: human vs machine in the diagnosis of melanoma.

O IL EPILUMINESCENCE microscopy (ELM), surface microscopy, dermatoscopy, and dermoscopy all refer to the same process of examination of cutaneous lesions with an incident light magnification system with oil at the skin-microscope interface. This technique greatly increases the morphological detail that is visualized, which results in an improvement in the diagnostic accuracy of most pigmented skin tumors, including melanoma. Well-defined ELM methods for the diagnosis of melanoma that are suitable for inexperienced clinicians have been developed, and detailed atlases are also available. This allows formal training in ELM that, not surprisingly, is necessary to improve diagnostic accuracy.