Automated segmentation and analysis of the epidermis area in skin histopathological images

In the diagnosis of skin melanoma by analyzing histopathological images, the segmentation of the epidermis area is an important step. This paper proposes a computer-aided technique for segmentation and analysis of the epidermis area in the whole slide skin histopathological images. Before the segmentation technique is employed, a monochromatic color channel that provides a good discriminant information between the epidermis and dermis areas is determined. In order to reduce the processing time and perform the analysis efficiently, we employ multi-resolution image analysis in the proposed segmentation technique. At first, a low resolution whole slide image is generated. We then segment the low resolution image using a global threshold method and shape analysis. Based on the segmented epidermis area, the layout of epidermis is determined and the high resolution image tiles of epidermis are generated for further manual or automated analysis. Experimental results on 16 different whole slide skin images show that the proposed technique provides a superior performance, about 92% sensitivity rate, 93% precision and 97% specificity rate.