Hyperspectral imaging assessment for radiotherapy induced skin-erythema: Pilot study

Abstract

Skin cancer (SC) is a widely spread disease in the USA, Canada, and Australia. Skin cancer patients may be treated by many different techniques including radiation therapy. However, radiation therapy has side effects, which may range from skin erythema to skin necrosis. As erythema is the early evidence of exposure to radiation, monitoring erythema is important to prevent more severe reactions. Visual assessment (VA) is the gold standard for evaluating erythema. Nevertheless, VA is not ideal, since it depends on the observer's experience and skills. Digital photography and hyperspectral imaging (HSI) are optical techniques that provide an opportunity for objective assessment of erythema. Erythema indices were computed from the spectral data using Dawson's technique. The Dawson relative erythema index proved to be highly correlated (97.1 %) with clinical visual assessment scores. In addition, on the 7th session of radiation therapy, the relative erythema index differentiates with 99 % significance between irradiated and non-radiated skin regions. In this study, HSI is compared to digital photography for skin erythema statistical classification.

Keywords: Hyperspectral imaging; Radiation therapy; Radiation toxicity; Skin cancer; Skin erythema.