VITILIGO LESION ASSESSMENT TOOL ON SMARTPHONE

In some European countries skin diseases affect around 60 percent of the population [15]. For example in England, there are eight million people having skin disorder problems [16]. The effectiveness of a treatment depends on the type of the skin disorder, as some disorders can be easily managed by creams and ointments and some need long-term treatments. Melasma, melanoma, eczema and Vitiligo are common types of the skin disorders [16]. Vitiligo can occur at any age and is manifested by the appearance of white spots on the skin, that is, area lack of pigment - melanin. The therapeutic response analysis of the Vitiligo treatment is assessed by PGA method which gives undesired results due to visual assessments by dermatologist [1]. However, pigment distribution analysis can be done by using digital image analysis algorithm. The independent component analysis algorithm enables accurate objective measurement of repigmentation and measurements can be made in a short period of time [1]. The complete system requires a camera and a computer to run the analysis software on PCs. Thus, to make Vitiligo analysis system available to unspecialized users, the android based system using smartphone is envisaged. The algorithm therefore needs to be rewritten for smartphone. However, ICA algorithm is not an easy task for any hardware platform, especially for portable devices, mobiles [17]. ICA algorithm does vast computations thus; ICA algorithm is used to improve segmentation performance. In this project Vitiligo skin lesion assessment system is implemented and optimized on smartphone running Android OS. Android is OS system, designed for touch screen mobiles. It creates easy way of writing applications by providing platforms for implementation.