SBIR Phase I: Hair Genome Project - Computational approach to classifying hair profiles and dermatological health disparities in underserved communities

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力将是一个包容性平台，为个人提供对头发健康的数据驱动的个性化见解。头发健康在整体心理/身体健康中发挥着重要作用；然而，缺乏透明的数据极不成比例地阻碍了获得优质产品和护理信息的机会，特别是在少数族裔社区。这种差异导致个人使用对头发和头皮健康产生不利影响的产品和/或着装风格。这项拟议的技术将弥合这些差距，为用户提供头发/头皮健康见解，并为他们的头发轮廓和目标匹配合适的产品和养生品。同时，可以利用该平台的数据和用户参与度，为品牌、医疗保健提供商、保险公司等提供更深入的见解，了解客户的头发护理相关目标、痛点和健康状况。除了支持头发健康外，该项目还将缓解由于不适合的产品和护理实践而导致的头皮和头发病理(如脱发、烧伤、断裂、接触性皮炎)。这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目旨在开发一个数据驱动的头发智能平台，使用大数据使所有人的头发洞察力民主化。该技术和平台将利用来自同行评议的出版物和有科学依据的数据库以及用户本身的大数据，不断完善个性化的见解，并在他们独特的头发轮廓的背景下了解客户的需求。使用专有算法，这项技术将能够无缝地识别和绘制不同的头发类型，识别次要的独特因素(孔隙度、密度、质地等)，绘制和分析产品中的不同成分，跟踪和绘制不同的治疗方案和产品使用情况，并开发情绪分析、模式和预测。该项目将：1)开发训练数据集和分级算法，用于高度可信的头发轮廓分类；2)通过与皮肤科住院医生的比较研究，验证和改进头发轮廓分类系统；以及3)建立概念验证，展示准确的头发轮廓分类与数据驱动的产品/风格建议之间的联系，以改善头发尊严。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will be an inclusive platform offering individuals access to data-driven, personalized insights on hair health. Hair health plays a large factor in overall mental/physical health; however, an absence of transparent data has disproportionately disadvantaged access to quality products and care information, particularly among minority communities. This disparity has led individuals to use products and/or wear styles that adversely impact hair and scalp health. The proposed technology will bridge these gaps, providing users with hair/scalp health insights and matching them with suitable products and regimens for their hair profile and goals. At the same time, the data and user engagement with the platform can be leveraged to offer brands, healthcare providers, insurance companies, etc. with deeper insights into their customers’ hair care-related goals, pain points, and health conditions. In addition to supporting hair health, this project will mitigate the scalp and hair pathologies (e.g., alopecia, burns, breakage, contact dermatitis) stemming from ill-suited products and care practices.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop a data-driven hair intelligence platform that uses big data to democratize hair insights for all. The technology and platform will leverage big data from peer-reviewed publications and science-backed databases as well as the users themselves, to continually refine personalized insights and understand customer needs in the context of their unique hair profile. Using proprietary algorithms, the technology will be able to seamlessly recognize and map different hair types, identify secondary unique factors (porosity, density, texture, etc.), map and analyze different ingredients in products, track and map different treatment regimens and product usage, and develop sentiment analysis, patterns, and predictions. This project will: 1) Develop training dataset and tiered algorithm for hair profile classification with high confidence; 2) Validate and refine the hair profile classification system through a comparative study with dermatology residents; and 3) Establish proof-of-concept demonstrating the connection between accurate hair profile classification and data-driven product/style recommendations to improve hair-esteem.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.