Polarization Color Imaging System for On-Line Quantitative Evaluation of Facial Skin Lesions

Abstract

A number of studies have been performed for accurate evaluation of chromophores in skin lesions. Qualitative methods are subjective and cause user-dependent error in evaluation. Quantitative methods have limitations for widely distributed skin lesions due to poor spatial resolution, potential skin blanching, and difficulty in relocating identical sites for subsequent measurements and analysis. The objective was to develop a new imaging modality that provides both qualitative and quantitative methods to evaluate widely distributed skin lesions. We have developed a prototype polarization color imaging system named "DermaVision," which provides quantitative on-line image analysis of polarization color images. Herein, we describe the hardware and software of DermaVision in terms of its performance and usefulness for dermatologic applications. Polarization color images were successfully acquired from patients with vascular or pigmented skin lesions. The erythema and melanin index images were successfully computed and quantitatively confirmed the degree of erythema and pigmentation in the skin lesions. We believe that DermaVision can be a useful auxiliary tool in dermatology because it simultaneously provides both qualitative and quantitative images of skin lesions.