• Journal of Korea Multimedia Society
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.1-10
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• 2013

This paper presents an approach for detecting and measuring human skin pigmentation. In the proposed scheme, we extract a skin area by a Gaussian skin color model that is estimated from the statistical analysis of training images and remove tiny noises through the morphology processing. A skin area is decomposed into two components of hemoglobin and melanin by an independent component analysis (ICA) algorithm. Then, we calculate the intensities of hemoglobin and melanin by using the location histogram and determine the existence of skin pigmentation according to the global and local distribution of two intensities. Furthermore, we measure the area and density of the detected skin pigmentation. Experimental results verified that our scheme can both detect the skin pigmentation and measure the quantity of that and also our scheme takes less time because of the location histogram.

• Journal of Advanced Information Technology and Convergence
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.47-58
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• 2018

In this paper, we propose a method for skin condition analysis using a camera module embedded in a smartphone without a separate skin diagnosis device. The type of skin disease detected in facial image taken by smartphone is acne, pigmentation, blemish and flush. Face features and regions were detected using Haar features, and skin regions were detected using YCbCr and HSV color models. Acne and flush were extracted by setting the range of a component image hue, and pigmentation was calculated by calculating the factor between the minimum and maximum value of the corresponding skin pixel in the component image R. Blemish was detected on the basis of adaptive thresholds in gray scale level images. As a result of the experiment, the proposed skin condition analysis showed that skin diseases of acne, pigmentation, blemish and flush were effectively detected.

• Journal of Multimedia Information System
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.77-85
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• 2014

Usually, the skin pigmentation detection and diagnosis are made by clinicians. In this process it is subjective and non-quantitative. We develop an approach to detect and measure the different pigmentation lesions base on computer vision technology. In the paper we study several usually used skin-detecting color space like HSV, YCbCr and normalized RGB. We compare their performance with illumination influence for detecting the pigmentation lesions better. Base on a relatively stable color space, we propose an approach which is RGB channels vector difference characteristic for the detection. After the object region detection, we also use the difference to measure the difference between the lesion and the surrounding normal skin. From the experiment results, our approach can effectively detect the pigmentation lesion, and perform robustness with different illumination.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.566-570
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• 2006

Exposure to ultraviolet B(UVB) radiation causes skin inflammation such as pigmentation and the induction of cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2) gene expression. In this study, we investigated the effect of natural extracts from Tea, EGb 761 and Korean red ginseng(KRG), on the pigmentation and expression of COX-1 and COX-2 mRNA in UVB-irradiated C57BL/6 mice. Before UVB irradiation, the skin color was significantly showed the lightening effect by topical application of natural compounds (p<.05). In the case of UVB irradiated mice, we observed a decrease in pigmentation by compounds (p<.05). In irradiated skin, COX-1 mRNA expression is not changed following UVB irradiation, but COX-2 gene increases. Also, natural compounds lowered mRNA levels of COX-2. Therefore, these results suggest that COX-2 mRNA increases by UVB irradiation. Also, Tea, EGb 761 and KRG as a topical application may inhibit skin pigmentation and modulate COX-2 mRNA level.

• ETRI Journal
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.776-786
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• 2016

The fairly recent standard of equipping mobile devices with advanced imaging sensors has opened the possibility of conveniently diagnosing skin conditions, anywhere, anytime. For this application, we attempted to estimate skin conditions from a skin image taken by a mobile handheld camera. To estimate the skin conditions, we specifically identified three skin features (pigmentation, pores, and roughness) that can be measured quantitatively from a skin image. The experimental data indicate that the existing thresholding methods are inappropriate for extracting the pigmentation and pore skin features. Thus, we propose a new line-fitting based thresholding method for skin feature detection. We thoroughly evaluated our proposed skin condition estimation method using our skin image database. The experimental results show that our proposed thresholding method can better determine the threshold leading to the most visually plausible detection, when compared to existing methods. We also confirmed that skin conditions can be feasibly estimated using a common mobile handheld camera (for example, a smartphone).

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.38 no.6
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• pp.725-732
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• 2011

Purpose: Skin grafting is one of the most commonly used methods in reconstructive plastic surgery field, but complications such as color change, contracture or hypertrophy are common problems. However, pathophysiology of the color change after skin graft is not yet determined and no animal model is established. Methods: Full thickness skin grafts were performed on the dorsum of C57BL/6 mice. Serial chronological gross inspection for color change and pigmentation were examined. Melanin pigments were traced by Fontana-Masson staining and semi-quantitative analysis was performed. In addition, immunohistochemical staining of S-100, Micropthalmia related Transcription Factor (MITF) and Melan-A antibodies were also performed to observe melanocytes and their changes. Results: After skin graft, color change and pigment spots were observed in the graft. Fontana-Masson staining showed melanin pigments in the epidermal and dermal layers in all mice. Immunohistochemistry staining to S-100, MITF, Melan-A antibodies showed melanocytes at the basal layer of epidermis and dermis. Conclusion: In conclusion, we have established an animal model for skin pigmentation after skin graft. We believe this study may be useful in understanding of the behavior of melanocytes after skin graft.

• Journal of Korea Multimedia Society
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• v.16 no.9
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• pp.1044-1056
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• 2013

This paper presents an approach for detecting and measuring human skin pigmentation. In the proposed scheme, we extract a skin area by a GMM-EM clustering based skin color model that is estimated from the statistical analysis of training images and remove tiny noises through the morphology processing. A skin area is decomposed into two components of hemoglobin and melanin by an independent component analysis (ICA) algorithm. Then, we calculate the intensities of hemoglobin and melanin by using the projection transformed block coefficient and determine the existence of skin pigmentation according to the global and local distribution of two intensities. Furthermore, we measure the area and density of the detected skin pigmentation. Experimental results verified that our scheme can both detect the skin pigmentation and measure the quantity of that and also our scheme takes less time because of the location histogram.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.32 no.5 s.92
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• pp.492-498
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• 2006

Ultraviolet(UV) radiation causes a variety of biological effects on the skin, including inflammation, pigmentation, photoaging and cancer. Free radicals are involved in inflammatory skin reactions induced by UVB radiation. In this study, we investigated the effects of antioxidants(Tea, Korean red ginseng, Ginkgo biloba extract) on UVB-induced skin damage. Tea, KRG and EGb 761 were topically treated to dorsal skin of ICR mouse. The mice were also treated soon after IMED ($1.4KJ/m^{2}$) of UVB irradiation. Skin pigmentation of irradiated mouse was observed by a chromameter after 2 weeks. Topical application of Tea, KRG and EGb 761 for 2 weeks decreased skin pigmentation compared to DVB control group(p<.05). Tea, KRG and EGb 761 also reduced UVB-induced infiltration of inflammatory cells. These results showed that Tea, KRG and EGb 761 as a topical application may have preventive effect against UVB-induced skin damage.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.43 no.3
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• pp.233-245
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• 2010

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary habits and nutrient intakes on skin condition of female university students. The subjects were 95 female university students in Daegu. This study examined anthropometric measurements, dietary intake, food intake habits and skin condition (moisture, elasticity, sebum (U-zone, T-zone), pores, evenness and melanin pigmentation. The subjects in this study had an average age of 21.4, an average height and weight of 161.2 cm and 52.9 kg, respectively, and the average body mass index (BMI) was 20.3 $kg/m^2$. The means of skin elasticity, pores, evenness, and melanin pigmentation were within the normal range of women in their 20s and the skin moisture state was slightly lower than the normal range, which showed a dry tendency. The sebum in the U-zone and the T-zone was lower than the standard values, which showed less secretion in both areas. The subjects with high nut intake showed a better skin pore state (p < 0.05). Those with a high intake of instant foods showed a sig-nificantly low skin moisture and a significantly higher sebum rate (p < 0.05). The group with high skin elasticity and the group with less melanin pigmentation showed a significantly low animal protein intake (p < 0.05). The group with high skin elasticity also showed a significantly higher vitamin A and niacin intakes as well (p < 0.05). The group with high skin evenness showed a significantly lower animal lipid intake and a significantly higher vitamin E intake (p < 0.05). In addition, those with high skin elasticity and evenness as well as low melanin pigmentation showed a tendency of high intake of antioxidant vitamins, such as vitamin A, carotene, vitamin C or vitamin E. In summary, a moderate intake of plant-based products and also the antioxidant vitamins within such products seems to have a beneficial effect on maintaining a healthy and good skin condition.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.205-208
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• 2002

Nitric oxide (NO) is a newly described transmitter involved with cell to cell communication that is generated in biologic tissues by specific types of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), which metabolize L-arginine and molecular oxygen to citrulline and nitric oxide. In the skin. NO has been reported to play an important role in such diseases as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and contact dermatitis, as well as act as an important modulator in UVB-induced erythema. Ultraviolet B irradiation to the skin evokes an increase in NO production in the epidermis through two pathways; induction of inducible NOS, mediated by inflammatory cytokines, and elevation of constitutive neuronal NOS activity. In a cell culture system, it has been demonstrated that NO functions as a melanogen after being produced in keratinocytes in response to UVB-irradiation. NO-stimulated melanogenesis in melanocytes is mediated by the cGMP/PKG pathway. In this study, up-regulation of tyrosinase gene expression by NO-stimulation and the involvement of NO in UVB-induced pigmentation were examined. In NO-induced melanogenesis, protein synthesis and tyrosinase activity increased along with an up-regulation of tyrosinase gene expression. In an animal model, UVB-induced pigmentation in skin was suppressed by sequential daily treatments with a specific inhibitor of NOS. Thus, NO plays an important role in UVB-induced pigmentation, where its function as a melanogen is considered to be one of the mechanisms. Together with its role in the development of erythema, NO contributes to the total protective response of skin against UVB-irradiation.