Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
505168 | Computers in Biology and Medicine | 2012 | 5 Pages |
Scale-crust, also termed “keratin crust”, appears as yellowish-to-tan scale on the skin's surface. It is caused by hyperkeratosis and parakeratosis in inflamed areas of squamous cell carcinoma in situ (SCCIS, Bowen's disease) and is a critical dermoscopy feature for detecting this skin cancer. In contrast, scale appears as a white-to-ivory detaching layer of the skin, without crust, and is most commonly seen in benign lesions such as seborrheic keratoses (SK). Distinguishing scale-crust from ordinary scale in digital dermoscopy images holds promise for early SCCIS detection and differentiation from SK. Reported here are image analysis techniques that best characterize scale-crust in SCCIS and scale in SK, thereby allowing accurate separation of these two dermoscopic features. Classification using a logistic regression operating on color features extracted from these digital dermoscopy structures can reliably separate SCCIS from SK.