Automatic Detection of Critical Dermoscopy Features for Melanoma Diagnosis

描述（由申请人提供）：恶性黑色素瘤，几十年来每年的发病率估计增长约6%，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。数字皮肤镜已经显示出更准确检测的希望，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和对最有用的结构特征的适度一致。这些特定结构的自动检测对早期诊断至关重要，并用于各种皮肤镜诊断算法将是可取的。然而，关于任何特定皮肤结构的自动检测的工作还很少发表。虽然特定的颜色在最关键的皮肤镜结构的定义中占有突出地位，但在颜色空间中寻找颜色所在的特定区域或区域组合方面，特别是参考周围皮肤，所做的工作很少。I期及I期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，发现了几个高度准确的皮肤镜特征，并将对困难的早期病变的平均诊断准确率提高到很高的水平。本提案旨在通过以下方法开发一个数字皮肤检查系统：1)比较分类器；2)测试边界准确性并在需要时修改分割；3)开发一种算法，该算法使用概率密度函数的三维表示，通过聚类方法和模糊逻辑技术指定单个和成对的黑色素瘤颜色；4)识别关键结构特征，包括棕色球体、突然边界切断、粒度、回归、5)开发用于临床图像采集的临床界面；6)在六个皮肤科诊所测试新算法，包括两个色素病变诊所，使用在诊所拍摄的EpiLight和DermLite II Pro皮肤镜图像。该研究的主要特点包括特定结构的皮肤病理学确认和相对颜色分析的使用。如果成功，该软件将被销售给越来越多具有数字皮肤镜功能的皮肤科医生。商业软件包将准备作为数码相机皮肤镜附件的诊断附件进行销售。几十年来，恶性黑色素瘤的发病率估计每年增长约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，这个项目旨在开发一种可以发现早期黑色素瘤的数字皮肤镜设备。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.