Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an emerging optical diagnosis that enables in vivo tomographic visualization for non-invasive optical biopsy. OCT has proven its value primarily in ophthalmology, but recently also in dermatology. However, wide adoption has not taken place due to size and cost limitations as well as non-existence of handheld devices.Hence BIOPSYPEN will develop a new OCT generation with step-changes in size and cost beyond state-of-the-art to radically transform OCT instrumentation for handheld point-of-care diagnosis. In contrast to conventional approaches, BIOPSYPEN's OCT is based on integrated optics, more precisely on hybrid integration of silicon photonics with III-V sources, enabling a significantly smaller, low-cost, compact and maintenance free alternative.BIOPSYPEN will target complementary research to develop an unprecedented compact (pencil-like), reliable, low-cost, battery-operated, wireless handheld OCT device in combination with an embedded system based external console to receive two-and three-dimensional tomograms for instantaneous post processing and visualization as well as immediate diagnosis.BIOPSYPEN will contribute to a significantly wider adoption of OCT in real clinical point of care settings. Early diagnosis of skin cancer and inflammatory skin diseases are envisaged. Skin cancer will be used as a surrogate for other epithelial cancers, e.g. oral, gynaecologic or gastrointestinal cancer. Partnerships with leading innovative clinical users will enable preclinical evaluation.Through the use of integrated optics in combination with complementary cutting-edge technologies, BIOPSYPEN will dramatically reduce cost and size (both at least by one order of magnitude) of currently available OCT commercial systems. It will also eliminate instrumentation maintenance requirements and will reduce training and healthcare costs, paving the way to revolutionize diagnosis for general medicine and primary care.