title: A method for the estimation of the hemoglobin distribution in gastroscopic images.
abstract: The assessment of blood flow in the gastrointestinal mucosa could be a useful indicator for the diagnosis and treatment of several diseases, such as ulcers, gastritis, colitis or early cancer. The quantity of blood flow is roughly estimated by computing the spatial hemoglobin distribution in the mucosa. The method presented here enables a practical realization by calculating approximately the hemoglobin concentration based on a spectrophotometric analysis of endoscopic true-color images, which are recorded during routine examinations. A system model based on the reflectance spectroscopic law of Kubelka-Munk is derived, which enables an estimation of the hemoglobin concentration by means of the color values of the images. Additionally, a transformation of the color values is developed, in order to improve the luminance independence. Applying this transformation and estimating the hemoglobin concentration for each pixel of interest, the hemoglobin distribution can be computed. The results obtained are mostly independent of luminance. An initial validation of the method is made by a quantitative estimation of the reproducibility.
authors.affiliation: GSF-Forschungszentrum für Umwelt und Gesundheit, Institut für Medizinische Informatik und Systemforschung Neuherberg, Oberschleissheim, Germany.
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Englmeier
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Herpers
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Jacoby
authors.forename: F M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Zwiebel
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D003092:Colitis / Q000175:diagnosis; D003113:Colonoscopy; D003116:Color; D005753:Gastric Mucosa / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000098:blood supply / Q000378:metabolism; D005756:Gastritis / Q000175:diagnosis; D005773:Gastroscopy; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000098:blood supply / Q000378:metabolism; D007414:Intestinal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D008027:Light; D012039:Regional Blood Flow; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013053:Spectrophotometry; D013274:Stomach Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis; D013276:Stomach Ulcer / Q000175:diagnosis
chemical_list: D006454:Hemoglobins