Fractal and integer-dimensional geometric analysis of pigmented skin lesions

Am J Dermatopathol. 1995 Aug;17(4):374-8. doi: 10.1097/00000372-199508000-00012.

Abstract

Accurate in vivo diagnosis of pigmented skin lesions is required to identify and excise malignant melanomas but to avoid unnecessary excision of benign lesions; the published rates of clinical diagnostic accuracy are about 65%. This study investigates whether fractal geometric analysis of pigmented skin lesions can improve the rate of diagnostic accuracy. Forty-two pigmented skin lesions (15 malignant melanomas, 21 melanocytic naevi, and 6 basal cell papillomas) on patients attending a dermatology clinic were photographed, excised, and sent for histopathological examination. The fractal dimension of the boundary of the lesions was measured using a box-counting method implemented on a microcomputer-based image analysis system. Euclidean geometric parameters were also measured. The fractal dimension of all the lesions was greater than the topological dimension (one), indicating that there is a fractal element to their structure. Using all measured parameters together, multivariate linear discriminant analysis produced a confusion matrix in which 45% of the lesions were assigned to the correct diagnostic group with a kappa statistic of 0.33. There was no significant difference between the fractal dimension of melanocytic naevi and that of malignant melanomas (p = 0.18). Although pigmented skin lesions have a fractal element to their structure, the fractal dimension of their boundaries is not a useful morphometric discriminant between the diagnostic groups of malignant melanomas and benign melanocytic naevi.

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms
  • Discriminant Analysis
  • Fractals*
  • Humans
  • Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
  • Keratosis, Seborrheic / pathology
  • Keratosis, Seborrheic / surgery
  • Linear Models
  • Mathematics
  • Melanoma / pathology
  • Melanoma / surgery
  • Microcomputers
  • Multivariate Analysis
  • Nevus / pathology
  • Nevus / surgery
  • Nevus, Intradermal / pathology
  • Nevus, Intradermal / surgery
  • Nevus, Pigmented / pathology
  • Nevus, Pigmented / surgery
  • Photography
  • Pigmentation Disorders / pathology*
  • Pigmentation Disorders / surgery
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Skin Neoplasms / pathology*
  • Skin Neoplasms / surgery