Automatic nevi segmentation using adaptive mean shift filters and feature analysis

A novel automatic method of segmenting nevi is explained and analyzed in this paper. The first step in nevi segmentation is to iteratively apply an adaptive mean shift filter to form clusters in the image and to remove noise. The goal of this step is to remove differences in skin intensity and hairs from the image, while still preserving the shape of nevi present on the skin. Each iteration of the mean shift filter changes pixel values to be a weighted average of pixels in its neighborhood. Some new extensions to the mean shift filter are proposed to allow for better segmentation of nevi from the skin. The kernel, that describes how the pixels in its neighborhood will be averaged, is adaptive; the shape of the kernel is a function of the local histogram. After initial clustering, a simple merging of clusters is done. Finally, clusters that are local minima are found and analyzed to determine which clusters are nevi. When this algorithm was compared to an assessment by an expert dermatologist, it showed a sensitivity rate and diagnostic accuracy of over 95% on the test set, for nevi larger than 1.5mm.