”VELscope as an adjuvant chairside diagnostic tool” – A clinical case series

The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of visually-enhanced lesion scope (VELscope) as an adjuvant diagnostic tool along with clinical examination. VELscope device which works on the principle of tissue fluorescence and helps in diagnosis or identification of suspected dysplastic lesions. The use of VELscope in dentistry is contributory as it aids in the detection of dysplastic changes in oral potentially malignant disorders and appropriate surgical margins for resection, VELscope-guided biopsy procedures, indicative of bacterial, fungal, and viral infections, and also inflammatory lesions. The cases discussed in the report are clinical cases where VELscope has been used as an accessory tool to enhance the clinical efficacy of diagnosis. There are different domains of cases where the use of VELscope has been assessed, also cases where VELscope can be beneficial to identify most preferred site of biopsy, aiding in the identification of fungal, bacterial presence, and evaluation of premalignant lesions and different oral carcinomas. Both the advantages, limitations, and significance of the device in each clinical condition have been discussed. VELscope is a handheld, noninvasive adjuvant device which can be used along with conventional clinical conditions for enhanced diagnostic accuracy. It can also be used as a screening tool for the early detection of oral carcinoma and dysplastic lesions in mass screening and tertiary centers. Further studies are required to establish the efficacy of VELscope in the clinical practice of oral medicine and radiology. Increasing incidence of oral carcinoma is a worrying scenario. Early detection of these conditions can be assessed by various diagnostic methods which broadly includes conventional staining dyes such as Lugol’s iodine, methylene blue, toluidine blue, or light-based detection such as chemiluminescence, VELscope, Vizilite, or optical-based system such as colposcopy and optical coherence tomography. VELscope can be one of the tool for assessing dysplastic lesions at an early stage. Due to its portability, cost-effectiveness, and noninvasive advantages, it can be a promising tool for screening mass population for oral carcinomas.