Laser allows dermatologists to perform virtual biopsies with no cutting

Three year old Payton Carver has her father’s sense of humor and her mother’s determination…
The red hair comes from both sides so does her increased risk of skin cancer.

Michelle Carver was only 21 when she had her first brush with melanoma.
She insisted that her husband Kevin get checked too.
Last fall, a mole on Kevin’s arm turned out to be an early stage melanoma.
Duke University Dermatologist Dr. Kelly Nelson doesn’t just look over Kevin’s skin she looks through it - with a high-tech scope called the Confocal.
It uses laser light to see blood vessels and cells - in real time - a virtual biopsy. 
If the cutting edge technology can measure up to the standard scalpel biopsy it could mean fewer cuts in the future for patients like Kevin -
who today, thanks to his determined wife, is cancer free.