Color structured light imaging of skin

Abstract

We illustrate wide-field imaging of skin using a structured light (SL) approach that highlights the contrast from superficial tissue scattering. Setting the spatial frequency of the SL in a regime that limits the penetration depth effectively gates the image for photons that originate from the skin surface. Further, rendering the SL images in a color format provides an intuitive format for viewing skin pathologies. We demonstrate this approach in skin pathologies using a custom-built handheld SL imaging system.

Fig. 1

System schematic for (a) LED light source and (b) imaging head, (c) color picture of LED light source configuration, (d) color picture of imaging head, and (e) three-dimensional rendering of imaging head.

Fig. 2

(a) Standard color image of GA; a(1-9) SL reflectance images at 470, 530, and 655 nm for spatial frequencies of $0{\mathrm{mm}}^{-1}$ (DC), $0.2{\mathrm{mm}}^{-1}$, and $0.6{\mathrm{mm}}^{-1}$ for GA; a(10-12) color SL reflectance images of GA; (b-e)-1 rendered DC images and (b-e)-2 show color SL images for four lesions.