Automatic characterization and segmentation of human skin using three-dimensional optical coherence tomography

Abstract

A set of fully automated algorithms that is specialized for analyzing a three-dimensional optical coherence tomography (OCT) volume of human skin is reported. The algorithm set first determines the skin surface of the OCT volume, and a depth-oriented algorithm provides the mean epidermal thickness, distribution map of the epidermis, and a segmented volume of the epidermis. Subsequently, an en face shadowgram is produced by an algorithm to visualize the infundibula in the skin with high contrast. The population and occupation ratio of the infundibula are provided by a histogram-based thresholding algorithm and a distance mapping algorithm. En face OCT slices at constant depths from the sample surface are extracted, and the histogram-based thresholding algorithm is again applied to these slices, yielding a three-dimensional segmented volume of the infundibula. The dermal attenuation coefficient is also calculated from the OCT volume in order to evaluate the skin texture. The algorithm set examines swept-source OCT volumes of the skins of several volunteers, and the results show the high stability, portability and reproducibility of the algorithm.

Fracture process characterization of fiber-reinforced dental composites evaluated by optical coherence tomography, SEM and optical microscopy

“…The most successful application of OCT as optical diagnosis is in ophthalmology, where it can be used to create cross-sectional images of retinal pathology with higher resolution than any other noninvasive imaging technique, becoming the standard noncontact noninvasive ophthalmic imaging modalities for routine clinic diagnosis (8). Because of OCT potential to provide morphological information of biological tissues, it has been applied at other medical areas, such early diagnosis of ovarian neoplasia (9) and dermatology (10). Hard tissues like tooth were analyzed by OCT to verify the quality of dental restoration of enamel (11).…”

Automated Assessment of Epidermal Thickness and Vascular Density of Port Wine Stains Oct Image

“…OCT is now being increasingly employed in dermatology. 2 Previous studies have shown that the mean epidermal thickness (ET) obtained by OCT can be considered as a quantitative parameter for skin diagnosis 3 and quantitative treatment e®ect assessment. 4,5 ET is also a good indicator of skin aging process.…”

“…To obtain ET more rapidly and avoid user intervention, an automated algorithm is needed. In recent years, several automated methods have been reported to assess the ET by OCT, such as A-scan analysis, 3 shapelet analysis, 11 Markov chain 12 and active contour. 13 However, it is still unknown, about the e®ectiveness of these algorithms when applied to clinical OCT images with artifacts or skin/hair debris.…”

In situ optical coherence tomography of percutaneous implant-tissue interfaces in a murine model

“…Whether better results can be obtained by segmentation of single tissue layers, as presented by Hori et al [7], and allocation of different refractive indices may be addressed in future studies. …”