Use of color texture in determining the nature of melanocytic skin lesions--a qualitative and quantitative approach.
Melanocytic nevi are recognized as precursors of melanoma. Aiding in early recognition of melanoma, we estimated color texture parameters, fractal dimension and lacunarity of melanoma and other melanocytic nevi. Digital images of the lesions were processed. Graphic three-dimensional pseudoelevation images of the lesions and surrounding skin were produced to identify irregularities in color texture within the lesions. Estimation of lacunarity and fractal dimension followed in order to produce a numerical estimate of the coarseness of color texture. Clinicians readily perceive the resulting "geographical" images. Irregularity in the anaglyph, which might veil malignancy, is effortlessly identified through these images, and therefore an early excision of a suspect lesion is indicated.
Department of Dermatology, University Hospital of Heraklion, 71100 Crete, Greece. Lmanous@otenet.gr
Aglaia G
AG
Manousaki
Andreas G
AG
Manios
Evgenia I
EI
Tsompanaki
Androniki D
AD
Tosca
D001185:Artificial Intelligence; D003116:Color; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D009508:Nevus, Pigmented / Q000473:pathology*; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated