Computer vision and digital imaging technology in melanoma detection

With today's treatment options, melanoma cure rates can be improved only if the diagnosis is made early enough to allow for curative surgery. Since clinical signs of malignancy in a pigmented lesion are often ambiguous and even dermatology experts may misdiagnose melanoma, diagnostic tools and procedures have been developed to assist the clinician in the diagnostic workup. Epiluminescence microscopy or dermatoscopy is widely used to inspect the melanin reticulum at the epidermo-dermal junction zone for signs indicative of early tumor growth. With the help of computer technology, digital dermatoscopy systems have entered the diagnostic arena capable of accurately assessing skin surface features modeled along the ABCD criteria already used for clinical assessment of pigmented skin lesions. Today's technically refined computer-based systems provide sophisticated functionalities for automated feature extraction and lesion assessment for quantitative analysis, and may also be used for education and training purposes.