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Updated: Jun 4, 2026
High-Accuracy Correction of 3D Chromatic Shifts in the Age of Super-Resolution Biological Imaging Using Chromagnon
Published on: June 16, 2020
Chromatic aberration correction: an enhancement to the calibration of low-cost digital dermoscopes
Paul Wighton1, Tim K Lee, Harvey Lui
1School of Computing Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada.
Background/Purpose:
We present a method for calibrating low-cost digital dermoscopes that corrects for color and inconsistent lighting and also corrects for chromatic aberration. Chromatic aberration is a form of radial distortion that often occurs in inexpensive digital dermoscopes and creates red and blue halo-like effects on edges. Being radial in nature, distortions due to chromatic aberration are not constant across the image, but rather vary in both magnitude and direction. As a result, distortions are not only visually distracting but could also mislead automated characterization techniques.
Methods:
Two low-cost dermoscopes, based on different consumer-grade cameras, were tested. Color is corrected by imaging a reference and applying singular value decomposition to determine the transformation required to ensure accurate color reproduction. Lighting is corrected by imaging a uniform surface and creating lighting correction maps. Chromatic aberration is corrected using a second-order radial distortion model.
Results:
Our results for color and lighting calibration are consistent with previously published results, while distortions due to chromatic aberration can be reduced by 42-47% in the two systems considered.
Conclusion:
The disadvantages of inexpensive dermoscopy can be quickly substantially mitigated with a suitable calibration procedure.
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