Automatic Detection of Critical Dermoscopy Features for Melanoma Diagnosis

描述(申请人提供)：恶性黑色素瘤，估计发病率每年增长约6%，几十年来，造成相当大的生命损失。然而，如果及早发现，黑色素瘤很容易治愈。数字皮肤镜显示出了更准确的检测前景，特别是在早期阶段。最近的会议强调了对皮肤镜特征定义的普遍一致，以及对最有用的结构特征的适度一致。自动检测这些对早期诊断至关重要并用于各种皮肤镜诊断算法的特定结构将是可取的。然而，在自动检测任何特定的皮肤镜结构方面发表的工作很少。虽然特定的颜色在最关键的皮肤镜结构的定义中占据了突出的位置，但在寻找颜色所在的颜色空间中的特定区域或区域组合方面做的工作很少，特别是参考周围的皮肤。第一阶段和第一阶段之后的工作成功地在皮肤科医生边界范围的5%范围内分割了边界，发现了几个高精度的皮肤镜特征，并将困难早期皮损的平均诊断准确率提高到了较高水平。该建议旨在通过以下方式开发数字皮肤镜系统：1)比较分类器2)测试边界准确性并根据需要修改分割3)开发一种算法，该算法使用概率密度函数的三维表示通过聚类法和模糊逻辑技术来指定单个和成对黑色素瘤的颜色4)高精度地识别关键结构特征，包括棕色小球、突然的边界切断、粒度、回归和色素不对称5)开发用于在临床内获取图像的临床界面6)在六个皮肤科诊所测试新算法，包括两个具有在临床上拍摄的EpiLight和DermLite II Pro皮肤镜图像的色素病变诊所。这项研究的主要特点包括皮肤病理学对特定结构的确认和相对颜色分析的使用。如果成功，软件将销售给越来越多的具有数字皮肤镜功能的皮肤科医生。商业软件包将作为数码相机皮肤镜附件的诊断附件准备上市。据估计，恶性黑色素瘤的发病率几十年来每年增长约6%，造成相当大的生命损失。如果及早发现黑色素瘤很容易治愈，这个项目寻求开发一种数字皮肤镜设备，可以非常早地发现黑色素瘤。该项目的目标是开发廉价的黑色素瘤检测软件，并在多个皮肤科诊所进行测试。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Malignant melanoma, with an estimated growth in incidence of about 6% per year for decades, causes considerable loss of life. Yet melanoma can be easily cured if detected early. Digital dermoscopy has shown promise for more accurate detection, particularly at an early stage. Recent conferences have highlighted a general agreement on definition of dermoscopic features and moderate agreement on the most useful structural features. Automatic detection of these specific structures that are critical for early diagnosis and are used in various dermoscopic diagnostic algorithms would be desirable. Yet little work has been published on automatic detection of any specific dermoscopic structures. Although specific colors figure prominently in the definition of the most critical dermoscopic structures, little work has been done on finding the specific regions or region combinations in the color space where colors are located, particularly with reference to the surrounding skin. The work in Phase I and after Phase I successfully segmented the border within 5% of the range of the dermatologists' borders, found several highly accurate dermoscopy features, and brought mean diagnostic accuracy on difficult early lesions to a high level. This proposal seeks to develop a digital dermosocopy system by 1) comparing classifiers 2) testing border accuracy and modifying segmentation if needed 3) developing an algorithm that uses a three-dimensional representation of a probability density function to specify single and paired melanoma colors via cluster methods and fuzzy logic techniques 4) identifying critical structural features including brown globules, abrupt border cutoff, granularity, regression, and pigment asymmetry with high accuracy 5) developing a clinical interface for acquisition of images within the clinic 6) testing the new algorithms in six dermatology clinics including two pigmented lesion clinics with both EpiLight and DermLite II Pro dermoscopy images taken in the clinic. Key features of the research include dermatopathology confirmation of specific structures and the use of relative color analysis. If successful, software will be marketed to the growing number of dermatologists with digital dermoscopy capability. The commercial software package will be ready for marketing as a diagnostic adjunct for digital camera dermoscopy attachments. Malignant melanoma, with an estimated growth in incidence of about 6% per year for decades, causes considerable loss of life. Melanoma can be easily cured if detected early, and this project seeks to develop a digital dermoscopy device that can detect very early melanomas. The project goal is to develop inexpensive melanoma detection software and test it in multiple dermatology clinics.