Noise reduction from chromophore images and reliability improvement by successive minimization of intermixture in the modified Lambert-Beer law

Abstract

We developed an optimization method of chromophore vectors for skin images in the modified Lambert-Beer law. In the proposed method, vectors are optimized to minimize intermixture between melanin, hemoglobin, and shading components. Using the proposed method, the vectors can be optimized appropriately and stably. The proposed method also optimizes shading images, which may contain useful information. The melanin component obtained using the proposed method has a good correlation with that obtained from the conventional method with a reflectance spectrum. The proposed method advances the capability of prompt action upon installation of new equipment and eliminates arbitrary judgment of acceptance or rejection of vectors for each test image, which improves objectivity.