Method for generating a differential marker on a representation of a portion of the human body.
A computer-implemented method using neural networks and graph alignment generates differential markers on skin singularities, addressing the integration of dermoscopic and macroscopic images to efficiently track skin conditions over time, improving dermatological analysis.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- FR2024007378
- Authority / Receiving Office
- FR · FR
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-07-05
- Publication Date
- 2025-01-10
- Estimated Expiration
- 2042-06-15
AI Technical Summary
Current dermatological imaging systems lack the ability to efficiently integrate dermoscopic and macroscopic images of the entire body, requiring manual association and time-consuming processes to compare skin singularities over time, and there is no system that addresses these issues effectively.
A computer-implemented method for generating differential markers on skin singularities by superimposing symbols on images based on descriptor values, using neural networks for classification, and aligning images through graph merging to facilitate comparison and visualization of skin singularities over time.
Enables efficient comparison and visualization of skin singularities across different dates, allowing for quick identification of changes and evolution of skin conditions, reducing manual processing time and enhancing dermatological analysis.
Smart Images

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Abstract
Description
Title of the invention: Method for generating a differential marker on a representation of a portion of the human body. Scope of the invention
[0001] The field of the invention relates to computer-based methods for generating markers on a representation of the human body. More particularly, the field of the invention relates to systems and methods for assisting a physician, such as a dermatologist, in the analysis of skin lesions on the body's surface. State of the art
[0002] Currently, dermatologists analyze skin singularities by examining the surface of a patient's skin with the naked eye.
[0003] Current imaging devices offer practitioners limited choices. Most often, a dermatologist can access dermoscopic images with 10x to 30x magnification of a few lesions, taken individually using a handheld dermatoscope such as a "gun." Alternatively, they can access macroscopic images of the body using whole-body imaging systems, for example, a "cabin," allowing for global body acquisition.
[0004] These two techniques can be used in combination, but at best and at the cost of too much time, only allow obtaining a macroscopic image of the whole body, with some lesions in dermoscopy by manual association of dermoscopic images to an area of the body.
[0005] Consequently, there is no whole-body imaging or skin maps that allow access to dermoscopy images at any point.
[0006] Several existing systems allow for the acquisition of skin photographs at various resolutions. These systems enable macroscopic observation of, for example, moles. However, it is important to acquire images at different times, ideally using dermoscopy, to monitor the evolution of a peculiarity over time. The physician must therefore save the images, associate them with a specific area of the body so that they can be compared with the correct images later, and finally orient and display them in the same way for comparison during an examination.
[0007] However, to date, there is no process or system that addresses all of these issues. Summary of the invention
[0008] According to a first aspect, the invention relates to a computer-implemented method for generating at least one differential marker of the presence of a cutaneous singularity on a human body, said method comprising: • Receipt at a first date of at least one first image of all or part of the human body, called first body part, of a first individual allowing the display of a dermoscopic image extracted from said first image with a dermoscopic resolution, said first image comprising a plurality of cutaneous singularities of the skin of said body, each singularity having each of the coordinates in a first frame associated with said first image and being associated with a first date and with at least one first value of a first descriptor; • Receipt at a second date of at least one second image of the same first part of the human body of the first individual with substantially identical resolution, said second image comprising a plurality of cutaneous singularities of the skin of said body, each singularity having each of the coordinates in a first frame associated with said second image and being associated with a second date and with at least one second value of the first descriptor; • Generation of a first representation comprising the first image and at least one first symbol associated with a first singularity located at a first position of said first image of the first frame, said at least first symbol being superimposed on the first image at the first position, said first symbol having a first geometry and / or a first color generated as a function of at least the first value of the first descriptor considered at the first date; • Generation of a second representation in the vicinity of the first representation comprising the second image and at least one second symbol associated with the first singularity, said second symbol having a second geometry and / or a second color, said at least second symbol being superimposed on the second image at the first position, said second geometry and / or said second color being different from the first geometry and / or the first color thus defining a differential marker, when the calculated distance between a first value of the first descriptor calculated at the first date and a second value of the first descriptor calculated at the second date is greater than a predefined threshold.
[0009] One advantage is that it allows for a simple tool to compare two skin images acquired at different times while benefiting from tools easily accessible visualization of an area of interest, allowing for the evaluation of the evolution of a situation.
[0010] According to one embodiment, the method includes the generation of a graph comprising a set of nodes, said nodes corresponding to singularities, each node having attributes, including a position of the singularity and at least one value of a descriptor.
[0011] One advantage is to allow the two images to be merged according to the same reference point in order to allow a similar display of the two parts of the human body at two different dates.
[0012] According to one embodiment, the two images of each representation are oriented and aligned with each other by means of a step of comparison and / or merging of the two graphs and minimization of the error of the position gap of the nodes between them.
[0013] One advantage is to facilitate the reading and analysis of a singularity by offering a better visualization context that promotes the detection of discrepancies from one image to another.
[0014] According to another aspect, the invention relates to a computer-implemented method for linking two images, each having a dermoscopic resolution of all or part of a human body and received on two different dates, said method comprising: • Receipt at a first date of at least one first image of all or part of the human body, called first body part, of a first individual allowing the display of a dermoscopic image extracted from said first image with a dermoscopic resolution, said first image comprising a plurality of cutaneous singularities of the skin of said body, each singularity having each of the coordinates in a first frame associated with said first image and being associated with a first date and at least one first value of a first descriptor, each singularity located in the first image defining a node of a first graph; • Receipt at a second date of at least one second image of the same first part of the human body of the first individual with substantially identical resolution, said second image comprising a plurality of cutaneous singularities of the skin of said body, each singularity having each of the coordinates in a first frame associated with said second image and being associated with a second date and at least one second value of the first descriptor, each singularity located in the second image defining a node of a second graph; • Generation of a first representation including the first image; • Calculation of a correspondence vector from the comparison of a plurality of singularity positions and at least one value of at least one descriptor of said singularities of the first graph and the second graph; • Generation of a second representation in the vicinity of the first representation including the second image, said second representation being generated so that the first and second images are oriented according to the same coordinate system or are displayed according to the same dimension scale.
[0015] According to one embodiment, each singularity of the first image is associated with a plurality of descriptors comprising at least one descriptor from the following list: • A contrast value relative to a representative value of an average color considered in the vicinity of the skin singularity; • A given class of a classifier of an output of a neural network having been trained with dermoscopic images of skin singularities; • A characterization of a geometric datum of the shape. • A score corresponding to a scalar value or a numerical value obtained by implementing an algorithm that processes as input an image extracted from the first image, • A score obtained by calculating different values of singularity descriptors considered in the neighborhood of a given singularity.
[0016] One advantage is to allow the identification of a category or value of a singularity, making it easier to associate a type of symbol according to the category of the singularity considered.
[0017] According to one embodiment, when a class is associated with a singularity after acquired skin images are provided to a neural network configured to deliver a classification of said provided images, at least one class is included among the following list of classes: • a class relating to the geometry of the periphery of the singularity of a given dermoscopic photograph, • a class relating to the characterization of a geometry of the periphery of the singularity of a given dermoscopic photo with respect to a plurality of characterizations of geometries of peripheries of singularities of other dermoscopic photos considered in the vicinity of the given dermoscopic photo; • a class relating to the color of a singularity; • a class relating to the asymmetry of the geometry of the periphery of the singularity of a given dermoscopic image, • a class relating to the diameter of the geometry of the periphery of the singularity of a given dermoscopic image, when said singularity has a substantially circular shape, • a class relating to the area on which the singularity is present on the human body.
[0018] One advantage is to inherit the classes of a classifier from a neural network at the singularity level and therefore also from a position in the first image.
[0019] According to one embodiment, an evolution criterion is calculated quantifying the evolution of a descriptor of a singularity between two images of two acquisitions made at two different dates.
[0020] One advantage is to allow attention to be drawn to changes or evolutions of singularity over time.
[0021] According to one embodiment, an evolution criterion is calculated from a defined distance between a first value of a descriptor of a first node of a first graph acquired at a first date and a second value of a descriptor of a second node of a second graph acquired at a second date, each graph being generated from a first image, respectively from a second image, said images corresponding to a body of the same individual and the first node and the second node having the same position within the first and the second image.
[0022] One advantage is the ability to quickly perform differential calculations between two singularities of two images taken at two different dates, whose positions are known in two different coordinate systems and in the coordinate system of both images. Indeed, the use of graphs makes it very easy to corroborate the positions of singularities, particularly based on position correspondences and descriptor similarities. It is thus much simpler to align the two coordinate systems of the two received images in order to facilitate comparisons of descriptor values of a singularity that has evolved over time.
[0023] According to one embodiment, each singularity has a calculated position in the first or second image that corresponds to a geometric point characteristic of a shape characteristic of the geometry of said singularity. This may be an oval, an ellipse, a circle, a rectangle, or a triangle.
[0024] According to one embodiment, the color and / or geometry of a symbol is / are selected according to: • a criterion for a singularity to belong to at least one class of the classifier; • a value of a descriptor exceeding a threshold value; • the value of an evolution criterion of a singularity descriptor calculated between two first images acquired at two dates.
[0025] One advantage is to allow a wide configuration of representation of the different criteria for demarcating a given singularity or an evolution of a singularity over time.
[0026] According to one embodiment, the shape of the symbol is a simple geometric shape such as a circle, a triangle, a square, a rectangle or a cross or star shape.
[0027] According to one embodiment, the color of the symbol is generated according to a color gradient associated with the evolution over time of a value of a descriptor of a singularity according to a predefined scale of values.
[0028] According to one embodiment, a third symbol is generated according to a given color and / or shape(s) when a singularity is present in a first image acquired at a given position for the first time, said color or said shape of the third symbol allowing said symbol to be distinguished from another symbol to indicate the new appearance of said singularity.
[0029] One advantage is to represent the appearance of a singularity not having been identified in previous image acquisitions.
[0030] According to one embodiment, a user interaction with at least one displayed symbol allows the generation of a first digital instruction aimed at displaying at least one dermoscopic image in a display window, said displayed dermoscopic image corresponding to an image extracted from the first image associated with the position at which the symbol is displayed on the first image.
[0031] One advantage is to directly exploit the overall image of a patient's body without having to "re-paste" or process images taken by another device onto a macroscopic image.
[0032] According to one embodiment, a second digital instruction generated by a user action allows two dermoscopic images side by side to be displayed, extracted respectively from a first image and a second image, said two dermoscopic images allowing the singularities of the same position on the body to be displayed according to the same resolution and according to the same scale of dimensions.
[0033] One advantage is to benefit from the use of the graphs associated with the first and second images. The graphs are easily manipulated and allow for simple registration between the first and second images because only the descriptors and positions of the nodes are considered.
[0034] According to one embodiment, a second digital instruction generated by a user action allows two dermoscopic images to be displayed side by side, said two dermoscopic images allowing the singularities having the same position on the body to be displayed in the same orientation.
[0035] According to one embodiment, the first and second images are 2D images of a part of the human body. One advantage is that they represent body parts in a planar view. This view allows for better manipulation of the displayed image, particularly rotations and zooms.
[0036] According to one embodiment, the first image and the second image are 3D images of a part of the human body. One advantage is that they better represent the body of a patient and allow for the rapid visualization of an area of interest.
[0037] According to one embodiment, a digital command that allows movement, zooming, or selection of an area of interest in the first image of the first representation automatically generates an identical digital command on an equivalent area of interest in the second image of the second representation. An advantage is the ability to coordinate the representations of the two images during an examination of the human body displayed on a computer, taking into account a temporal evolution criterion.
[0038] According to one embodiment, a first digital control allows a three-dimensional digital avatar of the human body to be oriented so as to display a portion of the body selectable by a second digital control producing the display of a first image, said first image representing a plurality of singularities of the skin of said displayed portion, a set of symbols being represented with a geometry and a color dependent on at least one value of a descriptor of the singularity.
[0039] According to one embodiment, a first digital control allows a three-dimensional digital avatar of an individual's body to be oriented so as to display a portion of the body, a third digital control allows the said portion of the body displayed to be enlarged on an area of interest, said area of interest displaying a plurality of markers each having a position on the surface of the human body in a reference frame associated with the digital avatar, each marker being associated with a singularity of the human body, a fifth digital control allows the said marker to be selected to display a dermoscopic image extracted from the first image, said extracted image being defined around the position of the selected marker.
[0040] According to one embodiment, dermoscopic images are acquired by an image acquisition device configured to acquire a plurality of images of the skin of a human body of an individual and to assign to each image a position on a 3D model representing the body of said individual.
[0041] According to one embodiment, the 3D model representing the individual's body corresponds to the three-dimensional representation allowing navigation on different parts of the body.
[0042] According to one embodiment, the method includes a step of detecting a set of singularities on the surface of the body comprising the execution of a neural network processing as input skin images acquired by an image acquisition device and generating as output a classification of said image, each of the images being indexed according to a position on the surface of a 3D body model reconstructed from a generation of a depth map.
[0043] According to another aspect, the invention relates to a system comprising an electronic terminal having a display for generating the images produced by the process of the invention and a data exchange interface for receiving images acquired by an image acquisition device or another computer or another memory when said received images have been previously processed following their acquisition by an image capture device.
[0044] Another object of the invention relates to a method for acting on an image of all or part of the human body having a dermoscopic resolution so as to visualize on the one hand images of cutaneous singularities of the skin at a dermoscopic scale and on the other hand an image of all or part of the body at a macroscopic scale.
[0045] An advantage of the invention is to generate skin maps allowing access to given areas of the skin by means of magnification functions up to the dermoscopic level.
[0046] One advantage is to allow access to any image acquired and associated with a point of a representation of the body, in particular points corresponding to areas of virgin skin, or points corresponding to pigmented or non-pigmented lesions. Brief description of the figures
[0047] Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, with reference to the accompanying figures, which illustrate: • [Fig.1]: a three-dimensional representation of a human body allowing navigation to select a portion of the body; • [Fig.2]: two representations of the same image representing the torso of a human body at two different dates, each image containing a set of singularities of the human body and a plurality of symbols allowing to discriminate certain singularities in relation to other singularities; • [Fig.3]: a representation of an image of a portion of the human body allowing access to a dermoscopic photograph of a singularity; • [Fig.4]: a representation of an image of a portion of the human body allowing access to two dermoscopic photographs of a singularity obtained at two different dates. • [Fig.5]: an example of a representation of a system of the invention.
[0048] A "dermoscopic image" is defined as an image acquired by optics that allows for the formation of a close-up image of a portion of the skin. In the following description, a dermoscopic image, broadly speaking, refers to an image of an area of the skin magnified to the size of the imaged area. Magnification thus involves an operation aimed at representing an area at a scale larger than the scale corresponding to its actual size.
[0049] The invention relates more particularly to dermoscopic images having magnifications on the order of 10x to 30x of the actual size of the skin area considered, that is to say, between ten times and thirty times the size of the actual area. By way of example, the dermoscopic image may be associated with a given resolution or greater than a given threshold.
[0050] Finally, according to another example, a dermoscopic image can refer to an image acquired by a device or instrument designed to image areas of the skin. This could be a dermatoscope, which exists in different variants: • Contact or contactless equipment; • Equipment that projects polarized or non-polarized light; • Equipment including optics for acquiring digital images, • Conventional equipment including, for example, a magnifying glass without acquisition.
[0051] According to another example, the method of the invention can be carried out from images acquired from certain devices up to a magnification of 400x, i.e. 400 times.
[0052] Any image having dermoscopic resolution is called an image, regardless of its size, which can be zoomed or enlarged so as to display images at a dermoscopic scale, that is to say an image with a magnification between 10x or 30x of the actual size of the singularity represented on the body of an individual.
[0053] A body model faithful to an individual's body is defined as a body model resulting from a 3D scan of an individual's body that includes skin images at each pixel of a three-dimensional representation. The term "body" is understood to mean the whole or almost the whole of the body, meaning that certain parts of the body may be intentionally masked without thereby declassifying the designation as a body.
[0054] A skin singularity is understood to be an area exhibiting a contrast with the average skin color in its vicinity, or a localized asperity on the human body. Color or intensity thresholds can be defined to determine whether the area contains a singularity. In other cases, a singularity may be characterized by an area exhibiting a gradient of color or intensity. These can be in the visible light range or in other parts of the spectrum such as the UV spectrum or the infrared spectrum, i.e. multispectral / hyperspectral.
[0055] Fig. 1 illustrates a 3D representation of an individual's body. This image may correspond to the first IMi image having dermoscopic resolution and being able to be directly zoomed to obtain an image of a singularity SG at the dermoscopic scale. Alternatively, this representation allows, by means of a computer for example, the selection of a body area such as the Zi area representing the arm.
[0056] According to one example, a CR command allows a computer user to orient the 3D image of the body according to the view they wish to display and use. They can thus visualize, for example, the back or torso of a body. To this end, a command allows the body to be rotated around an axis of revolution, here defined by the axis parallel to the axis along which the body extends along its longest dimension. According to one example, other commands allow the body to be oriented around another axis, which could be a roll, pitch, or yaw axis. According to one example, a translation can also be defined. If the 3D image is the first image received with a dermoscopic resolution, this resolution can be manipulated to allow zooming on an image at the dermoscopic scale.
[0057] User commands allow the generation of CONS2 numerical instructions enabling the movement, modification, zoom, orientation, or coordination of the display of the two images. Various numerical commands such as CDNi for moving an area of interest, CDN2 for orienting the avatar along at least one axis, CDN3 for enlarging an area of interest, and CDN4 for selecting a marker positioned in the first or second image relative to a singularity to display an image extracted from the first image at a dermoscopic scale can result in generating different operations on the displayed image or on the two images displayed in each representation.
[0058] The selection of a marker of interest or a symbol of the image by a user makes it possible to generate a digital instruction CON1 interpretable by a computer and allowing to generate a window in which an image of dermoscopic resolution extracted from the first image or the second image is displayed at the dermoscopic scale.
[0059] According to one embodiment, a CDN0 command allows a displayed area of the human body to be enlarged on the screen. Thus, once a view has been selected, for example that of the front of an individual Ui, it is possible to zoom in on only a part of the body, such as the torso or arm. Alternatively, it is possible to select an area of the body to generate a representation in another window.
[0060] The representation can be a 2D or 3D view. According to the example in [Fig. 1], it is a three-dimensional representation, but a 2D representation could alternatively be chosen. This 2D representation can concern the entire body or a part of the body. In order to obtain a 2D representation of a 3D surface, a cut along boundary lines makes it possible to generate a flat surface of a portion of the 3D surface for its representation on the screen.
[0061] The invention therefore includes a first representation allowing navigation within the surface of the human body by operations of modification of orientation, selection of areas or magnification, etc.
[0062] According to a first example, the representation of the human body such as that of [Fig.1], is an independent avatar of the faithful representation of an individual's body, it is denoted MODi.
[0063] According to a second example, the representation of the human body, such as that in [Fig. 1], is a faithful avatar of the body of an individual MOD0 that has been scanned using an image acquisition device. The avatar can be represented and oriented in a coordinate system Ro linked to the individual's body. When this representation is created, it relies on the use of a 3D model of a human body, each point of whose surface is indexed in a coordinate system Ro linked to the body model. The invention is compatible with whole-body imaging devices that can produce macroscopic images of the human body from which a faithful body model can be created.
[0064] In both cases, a plurality of dermoscopic images are recorded in a memory in order to produce a single IMi image of all or part of the human body.
[0065] The method of the invention can begin at the stage of receiving the first IMb image. However, a step of detecting skin singularities on the surface of the scanned body can be performed beforehand. This operation aims to associate each singularity with a position on a MOD0 body model. Thus, when the 3D representation directly uses the 3D model, the positions of the singularities indexed on the MOD0 body model correspond to the positions of the markers generated on the surface of the represented human body, allowing access to the dermoscopic images.
[0066] The position of the singularities can also be indexed on a 2D image in a coordinate system denoted Rb
[0067] When a 3D avatar is generated to represent a standard model of a human body, the markers generated on the surface of this representation are generated at positions corresponding to the positions indexed on the MOD0 body model, which is faithful to the scan obtained from an individual's body. A coordinate transformation matrix can be used to generate coordinates from a faithful body model to a standard body model.
[0068] According to one embodiment, descriptors are associated with each singularity.
[0069] According to one embodiment, the coordinates of the points of a faithful 3D model of a human body of an individual are transposed within a 2D representation from a standard representation of a human body from a coordinate transformation matrix.
[0070] According to one embodiment, the system of the invention includes an actuator such as a computer mouse and a pointer or a touch control enabling operations to be performed on the avatar such as a rotation CR noted on [Fig.1].
[0071] Figure 2 shows two representations of two images IMb IM2 of the same part of a human body of the same individual Ui acquired on two different dates. The images IMi and IM2 are preferably displayed at the same scale and in the same orientation. They correspond to two 2D representations of a portion of the body such as, for example, the torso of an individual.
[0072] According to one embodiment, the 2D representation of the portion of the human body is directly extracted from a faithful MOD0 body model of an individual's body obtained through a scan of said individual. In this latter case, if the images are extracted from a body model that has changed over time, for example, because a long period separates the two acquisitions and the individual has followed a diet, then the two images IMi and IM / are different. In other words, the body model Mo is different, or the first image is different, if skin pixels have changed or if singularities have also changed.
[0073] However, in the following description, the images IMi and IM2 of each representation are considered to designate equivalent parts of the human body.
[0074] Each representation of a portion of the human body comprises an image IMi and a plurality of symbols Si, S2 indicating that a plurality of singularities SGi associated with the plurality of symbols belongs to a class of a given classifier. For example, this could be a mole, a pimple, an angioma, a scar, etc., or a particular type of each of these elements. Typically, there can be different classes of skin lesions and different classes of scars.
[0075] The method of the invention makes it possible to retrieve information from an already existing classifier in order to assign the class to the detected singularity and positioned in the image IMi or IM2. To this end, a neural network can be configured according to a given training program in order to produce as output a classifier capable of classifying the images given as input to the network. This step, as mentioned, is preferably a preliminary step to the process of the invention.
[0076] The symbols may be geometric shapes such as circles, ovals, squares, triangles, hexagons, stars, etc.
[0077] Each symbol can also include a color; the color can also be automatically chosen to be associated with a class of a classifier. One advantage is to allow an intuitive display for a user of a representation of a portion of a human body indicating areas of interest while qualifying the area of interest. The area of interest in this case can refer to a singularity positioned at a position in the first image IMi and / or the second image IM2.
[0078] According to one embodiment, each singularity is represented by a marker 5 independent of the classification of the dermoscopic image associated with it.
[0079] Fig. 2 represents within each image a plurality of markers 5 and a plurality of symbols Sb Si', S2, S2' on each representation.
[0080] In the case of [Fig.2], the two representations correspond to two dates Different acquisition dates (DATEi, DATE2) of the first and second IMh IM2 images have a dermoscopic resolution of the human body. They may correspond to two visits of a patient spaced 6 months apart, for example.
[0081] In the PRES1 representation, two symbols 14 and 16 are identifiable by a triangle, which may indicate that the singularities are of the same type. These symbols do not appear to have changed class in the second PRES2 representation, given that their geometry and color have not changed. The color is interpreted here by the shape of the dashes forming the outline of the geometric shape.
[0082] It is noted that the four symbols 10, 12, 13, and 15 are identifiable by a circle and may indicate that the singularities are of the same type and therefore of a different type than the singularities associated with symbols 14 and 16. Some of these symbols have changed in the second representation PRES2. Indeed, symbol 12 has become symbol 12' and appears to have changed color. It should be recalled that the lines forming the outline of the shape represent the color here. The shape of symbol 10 has changed its geometry. It is noted that symbols 15, 13, and 11 have neither changed their geometric shapes nor their colors.
[0083] Thus, at a glance, a doctor can, for example, draw his attention to peculiarities allowing for a thorough examination.
[0084] In the present case, certain singularities may have malignancy due to an evolution of the contour of the shape of the singularity or due to the fact that they have been changed from classes in the classifier or vice versa.
[0085] The method of the invention allows for a saving of time in the examination of a patient and a reduction of human errors, for example in subjects with many singularities.
[0086] Figure 3 represents a PRESi representation of an image onto which markers 5 and symbols Si, Si' are superimposed. Figure 3 also represents a dermoscopic image IMDi taken at a date DATE. This dermoscopic image can be displayed in a window following a user action on the first image IMi of the first PRES representation. For example, a mouse pointer click activates the display of a window in which a dermoscopic image IMDp is displayed. This image represents a singularity associated with the symbol 11 of the IMb image. The displayed dermoscopic image IMDi is, for example, extracted from the IMi image according to a predefined size within a predefined frame around the position of the singularity. In one example, the frame takes into account the geometry of the singularity's outline so as to display the entire singularity.Thus, the magnification of the singularity can be adapted to a defined dimension of a frame.
[0087] Figure 4 illustrates the PRESi representation in which the IMi image is displayed following an operator action at the symbol 12 superimposed on the IMi image. A first dermoscopic image, IMDi, is displayed in a first window, and automatically a second dermoscopic image, IMD2, extracted from a second IM2 image acquired at a date prior to DATEi, for example, DATE0, is displayed in a second window adjacent to the first window. The display of the second window can be automatic when the shape or color of the symbol is associated with a change in the singularity of the same position. It can also be a new symbol associated with a singularity that was not previously classified and was newly classified in a given class of the classifier during the last acquisition, i.e., at the most recent date.
[0088] Thus, the geometric or colorimetric characteristic of a symbol associated with a dermoscopic image of a given singularity can be affected by a class assigned to said dermoscopic image, or by a change of class assigned to said dermoscopic image, or by the assignment of a first class of the classifier to said dermoscopic image or by the result of a mathematical operation carried out on characteristics calculated from two singularities of the same position considered at two different dates.
[0089] An advantage of the invention is to produce an output from a system by means of an interface offering to display skin maps by part or of the whole body from the macroscopic level to the dermoscopic level with a magnification ranging from xl0 to x30. To switch from one view to another, a zoom function can be activated.
[0090] Figure 5 illustrates an embodiment of a system of the invention comprising a display 20 for displaying a first image and a second image produced by the process of the invention. Both the first and second images can be reconstructed from images acquired by an image acquisition device 6. In the case of Figure 5, this device is a mobile robotic arm 6 controlled by a trajectory computer. In this scenario, the user Ui is lying on a table 22. According to another embodiment, the acquisition device 6 can be a booth with fixed or moving optics in which an individual Ui positions themselves, for example, in a standing position.
[0091] Figure 5 also shows another acquisition device 5 arranged in a room for imaging the surface of a patient's body. This device is associated with a reference frame R'. This device can, for example, be used to image a macroscopic representation of the human body, and the optical device located in the distal part of the robotic arm is, for example, configured to image areas of the body with dermoscopic resolution.
[0092] The first and second images can be reconstructed by aggregating images acquired by a dermoscopic resolution image acquisition device. According to another method, a composite image is produced by selecting the sharpest pixels from each acquired image of the human body. In one embodiment, the images directly acquired by the image acquisition device can be transmitted to a local or remote computer to feed a neural network trained on skin images. An advantage is that it allows the acquired images to be categorized and assigned to singularities positioned within an image reconstructed from all the images.
Claims
1. Claims Computer-implemented method for generating at least one differential marker (Si, S2) of the presence of a cutaneous singularity of a human body, said method comprising: • Reception at a first date (DATEi) of at least one first image (IMi) of all or part of the human body, called first part, of a first individual (Ui), said first image (IMI) being an image generated from a body model of a human body and a plurality of dermoscopic images of the skin of said human body, allowing the display of a dermoscopic image (IMDi) extracted from said first image (IMJ) with a dermoscopic resolution, said first image (IMi) comprising a plurality of cutaneous singularities (SGi) of the skin of said body, each singularity (SG;) each having coordinates in a first reference frame (Ri) associated with said first image (IMJ) and being associated with a first date (DATEi) and at least one first value (Vi) of a first descriptor (Di); • Reception on a second date (DATE2) of at least one second image (IM2) of the same first part (IMi) of the human body of the first individual (Ui) with a substantially identical resolution, said second image (IM2) being an image generated from a body model of a human body and a plurality of dermoscopic images of the skin of said human body, said second image (IM2) comprising a plurality of cutaneous singularities (SGi) of the skin of said body, each singularity (SG;) each having coordinates in a second reference frame (R2) associated with said second image (IM2) and being associated with a second date (DATE2) and at least one second value (V2) of the first descriptor (Di); • Generation of a digital avatar of a human body and orientation of said avatar by means of a graphical interface so as to display a portion of a human body; Selection of a portion of said human body by means of a graphical interface; Generating a zoom of said portion so as to extract a first image up to the dermoscopic scale of said zoomed portion; Generation of at least a first representation and a second representation of 2D images taken at different times from the first image (IMi) and respectively from the second image (IM2) corresponding to the same zoomed portion of the avatar; Generation of a first representation (PRESi) comprising the first image (IMi) and at least one first symbol (Si) associated with a first singularity (SGi) located at a first position (POSi) of said first image (IMi) of the first reference frame (Ri), said at least first symbol (Si) being superimposed on the first image (IMi) at the first position (POSi), said first symbol (Si) having a first geometry (GEOi) and / or a first color (COLi) generated as a function of at least the first value of the first descriptor (Di) considered at the first date (DATEi); Generation of a second representation (PRES2) in the vicinity of the first representation (PRESi) comprising the second image (IM2) and at least one second symbol (S2) associated with the first singularity (SGi), said second symbol (S2) having a second geometry (GEO2) and / or a second color (COL2), said at least second symbol (S2) being superimposed on the second image (IM2) at the first position (POSi), said second geometry (GEO2) and / or said second color (COL2) being different from the first geometry (GEOi) and / or the first color (COL2) thus defining a differential marker, when the distance calculated between a first value (Vj) of the first descriptor (DJ calculated on the first date (DATE i) and a second value (V2) of the first descriptor (Di) calculated on the second date (DATE2) is greater than a predefined threshold.
2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises the generation of a graph comprising a set of nodes, said nodes corresponding to singularities, each node comprising attributes including a position of the singularity (POSi) and at least one value of a descriptor (Di) the two images (IMb IM2) of each representation (PRESi, PRES2) being oriented and aligned with each other by means of a step of comparing the two graphs and minimizing the error of the difference in position of the nodes between them.
3. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that each singularity of the first image (IMi) and / or of the second image (IM2) is associated with a plurality of descriptors (D;) comprising at least one descriptor from the following list: • A contrast value with respect to a value representative of an average color considered in the vicinity of the cutaneous singularity; • A given class of a classifier of an output of a neural network having been trained with dermoscopic images of cutaneous singularities; • A characterization of geometric data of the shape, • A score corresponding to a scalar value or a numerical value obtained by the implementation of an algorithm processing as input an image extracted from the first image or the second image, • A score obtained by a calculation of different values of descriptors of singularities considered in the vicinity of a given singularity.
4. Method according to claim 3, characterized in that when a class is associated with a singularity after acquired images of the skin are provided to a neural network configured to deliver a classification of said provided images, at least one class is included among the following list of classes: • a class relating to the geometry of the periphery of the singularity of a given dermoscopic photo (IMDi, IMD2), • a class relating to the characterization of a geometry of the periphery of the singularity of a given dermoscopic photo (IMDi, IMD2) with respect to a plurality of characterizations of geometries of peripheries of singularities of other dermoscopic photos (IMDi, IMD2) considered in the vicinity of the given dermoscopic photo (IMDi, IMD2); • a class relating to the color of a singularity; • a class relating to the asymmetry of the geometry of the periphery of the singularity of a given dermoscopic image (IMDi, IMD2), • a class relating to the diameter of the geometry of the periphery of the singularity of a given dermoscopic image (IMDb IMD2), when said singularity has a substantially circular shape, • a class relating to the area on which the singularity is present on the human body.
5. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that an evolution criterion is calculated quantifying the evolution of a descriptor of a singularity between two images (IMb IM2) of two acquisitions carried out on two different dates (DATEb DATE2
6. h Method according to claim 5, characterized in that an evolution criterion is calculated from a distance defined between a first value of a descriptor of a first node of a first graph acquired at a first date and a second value of a descriptor of a second node of a second graph acquired at a second date, each graph being generated from a first image, respectively from a second image, said images corresponding to a body of the same individual and the first node and the second node having the same position within the first and the second image.
7. Method according to claim 4, characterized in that the color and / or the geometry of a symbol (Si, S2) is / are selected according to: • a criterion of belonging of a singularity to at least one class of the classifier; • a value of a descriptor exceeding a threshold value; • the value of a criterion of evolution of a descriptor of a singularity calculated between two first images acquired on two dates (DATE0, DATEi).
8. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that a third symbol (S3) is generated according to a given color and / or shape(s) when a singularity (SGi) is present in a first image acquired at a given position for the first time, said color or said shape of the third symbol (S3) making it possible to distinguish said symbol from another symbol to indicate the new appearance of said singularity.
9. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that a user interaction with at least one displayed symbol (Si, S2, S3) makes it possible to generate a first digital instruction (CONSi) aimed at displaying at least one dermoscopic image (IMDi) in a display window, said displayed dermoscopic image (IMDi) corresponding to an image extracted from the first image (IMi) associated with the position at which the symbol (Si, S2, S3) is displayed on the first image (IMi).
10. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that a second digital instruction (CONS2) generated by a user action makes it possible to display two dermoscopic images (IMDi IMD2) side by side extracted respectively from a first image (IMi) and a second image (IM2), said two dermoscopic images (IMDiIMD2) making it possible to display the singularities of the same position on the body according to the same resolution and according to the same scale of dimensions.
11. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that a first digital command (CDNi) making it possible to move, zoom, or select an area of interest of the first image (IMi) of the first representation (PRESi) automatically causes the generation of an identical digital command (CDN0') on an equivalent area of interest of the second image (IM 2) of the second representation (PRES2).
12. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that a second digital control (CDN2) makes it possible to orient a three-dimensional digital avatar (MOD0) of the body of an individual so as to display a portion of the body, a third digital control (CDN3) making it possible to enlarge said portion of the body displayed on an area of interest, said area of interest displaying a plurality of markers each having a position at the surface of the human body in a reference frame (Ro) associated with the digital avatar (MOD0), each marker being associated with a singularity of the human body, a fourth digital command (CDN4) making it possible to select said marker to display a dermoscopic image extracted from the first image (IMi), said extracted image being defined around the position of the selected marker.
13. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that the dermoscopic images are acquired by an image-taking device configured to acquire a plurality of images of the skin of a human body of an individual and to assign to each image a position on a 3D model (MOD0) representing the body of said individual.
14. System comprising an electronic terminal comprising a display for generating the images produced by the method of any one of claims 1 to 13 and a data exchange interface for receiving images acquired by an image acquisition device.
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