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Using 3D differential forms to characterize a pigmented lesion in vivo

Warr, Rob; Zhou, Yu; Smith, Melvyn; Smith, Lyndon; Robert, Warr

Authors

Rob Warr

Yu Zhou

Profile Image

Melvyn Smith Melvyn.Smith@uwe.ac.uk
Research Centre Director Vision Lab/Prof

Lyndon Smith Lyndon.Smith@uwe.ac.uk
Professor in Computer Simulation and Machine

Warr Robert



Abstract

Background/purpose: After the formulation of ABCD rules, many new feature extraction methods are emerging to describe the asymmetry, border irregularity, color variation and diameter of malignant melanoma. In this paper, a new research direction orthogonal to ABCD rules that characterizes 3D local disruption of skin surfaces to realize automatic recognition of melanoma is described. Methods: This paper examines 3D differential forms of skin surfaces to characterize the local geometrical properties of melanoma. Firstly, 3D data of skin surfaces are obtained using a photometric stereo device. Then differential forms of lesion surfaces are determined to describe the geometrical texture patterns involved. Using only these geometrical features, a simple least-squared error-based linear classifier can be constructed to realize the classification of malignant melanomas and benign lesions. Results: As with the 3D data of 35 melanoma and 66 benign lesion samples collected from local pigmented lesion clinics, the optimal sensitivity and specificity of the constructed linear classifier are 71.4% and 86.4%, respectively. The total area enclosed by the corresponding receiver operating characteristics curve is 0.823. Conclusion: This study indicates that differential forms obtained from 3D data are very promising in characterizing melanoma. Combining these features with other skin features such as border irregularity and color variation might further improve the accuracy and reliability of the automatic diagnosis of melanoma. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S.

Citation

Warr, R., Zhou, Y., Smith, M., Smith, L., & Robert, W. (2010). Using 3D differential forms to characterize a pigmented lesion in vivo. Skin Research and Technology, 16(1), 77-84. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0846.2009.00384.x

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date Feb 1, 2010
Journal Skin Research and Technology
Print ISSN 0909-752X
Electronic ISSN 1600-0846
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 16
Issue 1
Pages 77-84
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0846.2009.00384.x
Keywords skin cancer, computer vision
Public URL https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/981749
Publisher URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0846.2009.00384.x