Apparatus and method for spectral enhancement of body-surface images to improve sensitivity of detecting subtle color features

摘要

A method for spectrally-enhancing images of a body surface includes the step of increasing the Saturation values of each pixel in the image. The methods increase the sensitivity with which a human observer can detect certain reflected wavelengths. Where the body surface is skin, for example, the method can be used to detect melanoma or other conditions where there is a deep dermal pigment characterized by a visible blue backscatter, or to detect the visible red backscatter characteristic of erythema. Also, apparatus for spectrally-enhancing images of a body surface includes means for color imaging the surface, means for increasing the saturation of the color in that image, and means for displaying the color-saturated image.