The VELscope Vx is a hand-held device that provides dentists and hygienists with an easy-to-integrate adjunctive mucosal examination system for the early detection of a wide variety of oral diseases, including pre-cancer and cancer.

Used in conjunction with the conventional intra-oral and extra-oral head and neck exam, the VELscope Vx facilitates the discovery of mucosal abnormalities before they become visible under ordinary light. The VELscope Vx is the only non-invasive adjunctive device clinically proven to help discover occult oral disease.

How Does the VELscope Vx Work?

The VELscope Vx hand piece emits a safe blue light into the oral cavity, which excites natural fluorophores from the surface of the epithelium through to the basement membrane (where premalignant changes typically begin) and into the stroma beneath, causing it to fluoresce. The VELscope Vx’s proprietary filter makes fluorescence visualization possible, by blocking reflected blue light, and by enhancing the contrast between normal and abnormal tissue.

Is the VELscope Vx a Diagnostic Tool?

Like other visualization technologies, such as panoramic radiography, CT, MRI, PET and ultrasound, the VELscope Vx is NOT a stand-alone diagnostic test. However, used in conjunction with the standard oral soft tissue exam, VELscope Vx provides visual information that cannot be acquired in any other way.

Does the VELscope Vx Generate “False Positives” for Oral Cancer?

False positives occur when a diagnostic test mistakenly signals the presence of disease. The VELscope Vx system is NOT a diagnostic test, and does not, consequently, generate false positives. As an adjunctive visualization tool, the VELscope Vx helps dental professionals discover a wide range of unhealthy tissue in the mouth, including oral pre-cancer and cancer.

VELscope: Impressive New Findings

A recent 620-patient study at the University of Washington has provided additional insights into VELscope’s potential. Within a dental school setting, the addition of VELscope to routine clinical examinations resulted in the detection of a number of mucosal abnormalities not detected by the conventional exam. Importantly, these abnormalities included not only a number of dysplasias, but also lichen planus and other inflammatory lesions.
The study highlights an aspect of VELscope that is sometimes overlooked. In addition to the detection of oral cancers and pre-cancers, the VELscope system is showing itself to be a powerful tool for the discovery of mucosal abnormalities such as:

• Viral, fungal and bacterial infections
• Inflammation from a variety of causes (including lichen planus and other lichenoid reactions)
• Squamous papillomas
• Salivary gland tumours.

Understanding the potential of the VELscope system adds significant clinical and commercial value to its purchase, since the appropriate treatment of mucosal abnormalities can enhance care and add to patients’ quality of life.

Benefits Patients, Clinicians and Practice

When used as an adjunctive aid in combination with traditional oral cancer examination procedures, VELscope facilitates the early discovery and visualization of mucosal abnormalities, including oral cancer. In one or two minutes, with no rinses or stains required, a VELscope system examination helps healthcare professionals assess their patients’ overall oral health.