JP6587959B2 - Skin image generation device, method of operating skin image generation device, and skin image generation processing program - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a skin image generation device that projects light on a subject's skin and generates an image for observing the skin state, an operating method of the skin image generation device, and a skin image generation processing program.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technique for measuring a color, such as a color value obtained by a colorimeter or a spectrophotometer, has been widely used for analyzing skin conditions. Actually, point measurement (one-dimensional measurement) is performed using the modified Munsell color system and CIE (International Commission on Illumination) 1976L * a * b * brightness, hue, and saturation calculated from the uniform color space. The skin color is measured using the measured values to analyze the skin condition. On the other hand, a method of measuring the spatial dimension of the measurement in two dimensions, that is, an image, has been studied, and a method of measuring the shape / size of the stain and the brightness of the region has been proposed. Furthermore, it has become possible to acquire information on a plurality of pigments such as melanin pigments and hemoglobin pigments.

  By the way, the light diffused and reflected inside the skin is particularly strongly related to the transparency of human skin, and it is said that the more the amount of this light is, the more beautiful the skin is. In other words, in order to create beautiful and highly transparent images, it is necessary to increase the amount of light diffused and reflected inside the skin. To that end, first, a method of evaluating the light diffused and reflected inside the skin is required.

  Therefore, a method has been proposed in which the light transmittance of the cosmetic coating film or the bare skin is evaluated by measuring internally reflected light that is diffused inside the skin and emitted from a position different from the incident position. In patent document 1, in order to measure the depth at which the linear or dotted light projected on the skin of the subject reaches the inside of the skin, a skin image at a location away from the projection position is acquired. The skin image at a location away from the projection position has many reflected light components reflected at the depth inside the skin corresponding to the distance, and reflects the depth of light that has reached the subject's skin, Related to transparency.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, a shielding plate is provided to suppress the reception of reflected light on the surface of the skin, and light diffused inside the skin is received at a position away from the light irradiation position. I am trying to measure transparency accurately.

  Further, in Non-Patent Document 1, the reflected light on the surface of the object on which the light is projected is reflected by linearly polarized light having the same polarization plane as the incident light, and the reflected light from the inside of the object is not polarized. There have been proposed methods for observing light reflected on the surface and light diffused and reflected inside.

JP 2014-033944 A JP 2009-240644 A

Kojima et al., Journal of the Japan Photography Society Vol. 56 (1993) No. 4 P 264-269

  However, in the method of observing light reflected at a position away from the projection position (Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, etc.) and the method of controlling the polarization of incident light and detection light (Non-Patent Document 1, etc.) Since the incident area is a macro area on the skin, even if the effect of increasing the internal scattered light under certain conditions is observed, it is the skin's skin crevice / skin / stain / pore It is difficult to obtain the knowledge of how to improve which part of the skin and how much light is diffused and reflected inside the skin.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a skin image generation device that generates a skin image for observing and / or analyzing light reflection for each element constituting the skin, an operation method of the skin image generation device, and skin image generation processing. The purpose is to provide a program.

  The skin image generation device of the present invention is measured at a projection unit that projects spot-like light, which is collected light emitted from a light source unit, onto the skin of the measurement target, and at a position where the spot-like light is projected onto the measurement target. An imaging unit that captures light reflected from the target, a scanning unit that scans spot-like light with respect to the measurement target, and a position on the measurement target that projects spot-shaped light while scanning using the scanning unit An image obtained by imaging the measurement target by the imaging unit was captured based on element-specific region information obtained by dividing the measurement target into a plurality of element-specific regions where each element exists among a plurality of elements constituting the measurement target. An image composition unit that generates a composite image obtained by compositing an image for each group, divided into groups of elemental regions to which the position where the spot-like light is projected belongs.

  The skin image generating apparatus according to the invention of the present application includes a projection unit that projects spot-like light, which is collected light emitted from the light source unit, onto the skin of the measurement target, and the spot-like light is projected onto the measurement target. An operation method of a skin image generation apparatus including an imaging unit that captures light reflected from a measurement target at a specified position and a scanning unit that scans spot-like light with respect to the measurement target. An imaging step for imaging the measurement target with the imaging unit while scanning a position on the measurement target for projecting light using the scanning unit, and a plurality of elemental regions in which each element is present among a plurality of elements constituting the measurement target Based on the elemental area information that divides the measurement object, the image captured by projecting the spot-like light is divided into elemental area groups to which the position where the spot-like light is projected belongs, and for each group Composite image that combines images And a composite image generating step of forming.

  The skin image generation program of the present invention is measured at a projection unit that projects spot-like light, which is collected light emitted from the light source unit, onto the skin of the measurement target, and at a position where the spot-like light is projected onto the measurement target. A computer of a skin image generation apparatus including an imaging unit that captures light reflected from a target and a scanning unit that scans spot-like light with respect to the measurement target is measured on the measurement target that projects spot-like light. An element-by-element area obtained by dividing an image obtained by capturing an image of a measurement target by an image pickup unit while scanning the position using a scanning unit into a plurality of element-by-element areas in which each element exists among a plurality of elements constituting the measurement object Based on the information, the image is divided into groups of elemental regions to which the position where the spot-like light imaged is projected belongs, and functions as an image combining unit that generates a combined image by combining the images for each group.

  “Spot-shaped light” refers to light condensed to a size that can be projected to a range sufficiently smaller than each component among a plurality of components to be measured. Light of a size that can be projected onto only one component.

  “Element-specific region information that divides the measurement object into multiple element-specific regions where each element is present among the multiple elements that make up the measurement object” means that each measurement object is divided into regions where each element exists. Information indicating the position of an area.

  Further, the composite image may be an image obtained by integrating the images obtained by projecting the spot-like light onto the measurement target according to the elemental regions to which the position where the spot-like light is projected belongs.

  In addition, when the image synthesis unit synthesizes each image captured by projecting spot-like light onto the measurement target, only an image portion that is separated from the center position where the spot-like light is projected among each image by a predetermined distance or more. It is also possible to generate a composite image by combining the above.

  In the case where the plurality of elements are a skin and a skin groove, the element-specific region is a skin region where the skin is present and a skin groove region where the skin groove is present, and the image composition unit is on the skin region. A skin mound region composite image that synthesizes images captured by projecting spot-like light onto multiple positions and a skin that combines images imaged by projecting spot-shaped light onto multiple positions on the skin groove region A groove region composite image may be generated.

  In addition, it is desirable to include a first intensity acquisition unit that acquires a representative intensity value representative of the intensity value of the cuticle area composite image and a representative intensity value representative of the intensity value of the skin groove area composite image.

  In addition, a first polarizer provided between the light source unit and the measurement target and a second polarizer provided between the measurement target and the imaging unit are provided, and incident light to the measurement target is supplied to the first polarizer. A polarization controller that controls at least one of the polarization direction that is polarized by the polarizer and the polarization direction that polarizes the reflected light from the measurement object by the second polarizer is further provided, and the image composition unit controls the polarization controller. A composite image obtained by making the polarization direction of the incident light and the polarization direction of the reflected light parallel, and a composite image obtained by making the polarization direction of the incident light and the polarization direction of the reflected light orthogonal by controlling the polarization controller. May be generated for each element-specific region.

  “Polarizer” refers to an optical element that transmits only light that vibrates in one specific direction and blocks light that vibrates in other directions. For example, a film-type polarizer, glass polarization, etc. Examples include a combination of a plate, a crystalline material, an optical multilayer film, and a prism.

  In addition, when the plurality of elements are a skin mound and a skin groove, the image synthesizing unit is arranged on the skin region where the skin mound exists when the polarization direction of the incident light and the polarization direction of the reflected light are parallel. The first captured image is generated by projecting spot-like light at a plurality of positions to generate a first cutaneous region composite image, and the spot-like light is applied to the plurality of positions on the skin groove area where the skin groove exists. A skin region where the skin is present when the projected and captured image is combined to generate a first skin groove region composite image and the polarization direction of the incident light and the polarization direction of the reflected light are perpendicular to each other. A second dune region composite image is generated by synthesizing images captured by projecting spot-like light onto a plurality of upper skin ridge positions. The second skin groove region composite image may be generated by combining the images captured by projecting the spot-shaped light.

  A representative intensity value that represents the intensity value of the composite image of the skin region obtained by making the polarization direction of the incident light and the polarization direction of the reflected light parallel, and a representative intensity value that represents the intensity value of the synthetic image of the skin groove area, and the incident A representative intensity value representative of the intensity value of the skin region composite image obtained by making the polarization direction of the light and the polarization direction of the reflected light orthogonal to each other and a representative intensity value representative of the intensity value of the skin groove region composite image are obtained. It is desirable to provide two intensity acquisition units.

  The representative intensity value may be an average intensity value of the skin mound region composite image or the skin groove region composite image.

  An irradiation unit that simultaneously irradiates light on the entire skin of the measurement target, an entire image acquisition unit that acquires an entire image obtained by imaging the measurement object irradiated by the irradiation unit, and an entire image that is separated into a cuticle region and a skin groove region A separation unit, and the image synthesis unit synthesizes the captured image by projecting spot-like light at a position on the measurement target corresponding to the skin region of the entire image to generate a skin region synthetic image Then, a skin groove region composite image may be generated by synthesizing an image captured by projecting spot-like light at a position on the measurement object corresponding to the skin groove region of the entire image.

  The separation unit may separate the entire image into a skin region and a skin groove region by binarizing the whole image.

  According to the present invention, an image obtained by capturing an image of the measurement target by the imaging unit while scanning the position of the spot-shaped light on the skin measurement target is divided into groups of elemental regions of a plurality of elements constituting the measurement target. By generating a composite image that combines images for each group, it is possible to obtain information on the optical characteristics of each skin component that could not be known so far, which affects the appearance of the skin. It becomes possible to clarify the factors.

Schematic diagram of skin optical measuring device The block diagram which shows the function of the skin image generation process part of 1st Embodiment Diagram for explaining the method of separating the entire skin image into the skin groove area and the skin hill area The figure for demonstrating the process which produces | generates the composite image which synthesize | combined the skin image which imaged the light reflected from skin by irradiating spot-like light The figure for demonstrating the process which produces | generates a composite image after performing a dark noise subtraction process with respect to a skin image Example of composite image when simple integration processing is performed Example of composite image when dark noise subtraction is performed Flow chart showing the flow of imaging skin with the skin image acquisition device A flowchart showing a flow of processing for generating a composite image A graph showing the average intensity values of the cuticle area and the groove area when imaged with parallel Nicols and crossed Nicols Diagram for explaining the incident and exit points of light The figure for demonstrating the incident point of light and the outgoing point of the light diffused and reflected in the skin The figure for demonstrating the image part which imaged the light diffused and reflected from the position away from the incident point The figure for demonstrating the method of synthesize | combining the skin image of only the light diffused and reflected from the position away from the incident point, and producing | generating a composite image A graph showing the average of the intensity values of the hide area and the groove area when imaged without a polarizing plate An example of an image that has been binarized on the whole image and divided into a hill part and a skin groove part A graph of the intensity value of the light coming out of the cuticle when it hits the skin and the light coming out of the cuticle after hitting the skin Modification of skin image acquisition device (part 1) Modification of skin image acquisition device (part 2) Modification Example of Skin Image Acquisition Device (Part 3) Modified example of skin image acquisition device (part 4) Modified example of skin image acquisition device (part 5) Modification of Skin Image Acquisition Device (Part 6) Modified example of skin image acquisition device (part 7) Modification of Skin Image Acquisition Device (Part 8) Modified example (9) of skin image acquisition device Modification of skin image acquisition device (No. 10) Modification Example (11) of Skin Image Acquisition Device Modification of skin image acquisition device (part 12) The block diagram which shows the function of the skin image generation process part of 2nd Embodiment Example of composite image captured with parallel Nicols and composite image captured with orthogonal Nicols

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a skin optical measurement apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. The skin optical measurement device 1 includes a skin image acquisition device 10, an image processing device 12, and an illumination unit 14. The skin image acquisition device 10 and the image processing device 12 are connected by wire or wireless, and data is transmitted and received. The skin image generation device of the present invention is composed of an image acquisition device 10 and an image processing device 12.

  The skin image acquisition apparatus 10 includes a light source 20, a lens 22, an optical fiber 24, an XY stage 26, a first polarizing plate 28, a beam splitter 30, and a second polarizing plate in a casing 18 provided with an opening 11. 32, an objective lens 34, an imaging unit 36, a polarization control unit 38, and an operation unit 40. The projection unit of the present invention includes the light source unit 20, the lens 22, and the optical fiber 24.

  The image capturing unit 36 is configured by a digital camera that records an image captured by the image sensor as digital data. The image sensor is an optical sensor that converts an image, which is an optical signal, into electricity, and a CCD (Charge-Coupled Device) image sensor, a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) image sensor, or the like is used. Hereinafter, the imaging unit 36 is simply referred to as a camera.

  The light source unit 20 is a white light source such as a xenon (Xe) lamp. The light emitted from the light source unit 20 is coupled to the optical fiber 24 by the lens 22, and the light emitted from the optical fiber 24 passes through the first polarizing plate 28 and the beam splitter 30 and is collected by the objective lens 34. Then, the spot-like light is irradiated through the opening 11 to the skin sp to be measured. The light reflected by the skin sp or diffused and reflected in the skin sp is collected by the objective lens 34, passes through the beam splitter 30 and the polarizing plate 32, and is imaged by the camera 36.

  The light source imaging magnification (L2 / L1) is determined by the distance L1 from the exit end 24a of the optical fiber 24 to the objective lens 34 and the distance L2 from the objective lens 34 to the skin, and the diameter d of the spot-like light is determined by the optical fiber. It is determined from the core diameter of 24 and the light source imaging magnification. In actual measurement, the diameter d of the spot-like light is preferably smaller than the size of the structural element of interest on the skin. For example, when it is desired to measure a 1 mm spot, the diameter d is preferably 1 mm or less. When it is desired to perform measurement with attention paid to the texture, the texture has a structure of about 100 to 500 microns. Therefore, it is preferable to make the diameter d smaller than 100 microns.

  On the other hand, when the width of the rectangular imaging target range on the skin sp is i, the camera imaging magnification (L3 / L) is determined by the distance L2 from the skin to the objective lens 34 and the distance L3 of the optical path center from the objective lens 34 to the camera 36. In accordance with L2), the size of the imaging target range captured by the camera 36 is determined. The sensor size of the camera 36 is determined to be sufficiently larger than the size of the imaging target range imaged by the camera 36. The distances L1, L2, and L3 are set so that the width i of the imaging target range on the skin sp is sufficiently larger than the diameter d of the spot-like light. For example, when the diameter d of the spot-like light is 50 microns and the diameter of the light spreading therefrom is 100 microns, the width i of the imaging target range on the skin sp is at least larger than 100 microns. To.

  The XY stage 26 is a stage that moves and positions in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, and is installed so that the X-axis and the Y-axis are substantially parallel to the skin. The XY stage 26 is provided with an exit end 24a of an optical fiber 24. By moving the exit end 24a to an arbitrary position, spot-like light is scanned within the imaging target range. Note that the scanning unit of the present invention includes the XY stage 26.

  As the first polarizer 28 and the second polarizer 32, those that perform linear polarization such as a combination of a film-type polarizer, a glass polarizing plate, a crystalline material, an optical multilayer film, and a prism are used (hereinafter referred to as polarization). The child is called a polarizing plate). In the optical path, the first polarizing plate 28 is provided between the light source unit 20 and the skin sp of the measurement target, and the second polarizing plate 32 is provided between the skin sp of the measurement target and the imaging unit 36. .

  In accordance with the operation of the operation unit 40, the polarization control unit 38 polarizes the polarization direction in which incident light to the skin sp is polarized by the first polarizing plate 28 and the reflected light from the skin sp by the second polarizing plate 32. By controlling the polarization direction, the polarization direction of the incident light and the polarization direction of the reflected light are made parallel (hereinafter referred to as parallel Nicols), or the polarization direction of the incident light and the polarization direction of the reflected light are made orthogonal (hereinafter, Called orthogonal Nicols).

  The operation unit 40 is provided with an orthogonal Nicole switching button for switching to orthogonal Nicol and a parallel Nicol switching button for switching to parallel Nicol (not shown). When each button is pressed, an instruction signal for switching to orthogonal Nicol or parallel Nicol is transmitted to the polarization controller 38.

  In the case 18, for example, at the time of initial setting, the first polarizing plate 28 and the second polarizing plate 32 are adjusted and arranged so as to be parallel Nicols, and the orthogonal Nicol switching button is pressed from the operation unit 40. Then, the instruction signal for switching from parallel Nicols to orthogonal Nicols is received by the polarization controller 38, and the second polarizing plate 32 is rotated by 90 ° to be in the state of orthogonal Nicols. When the parallel Nicol switching button is pressed again from the operation unit 40, the polarization control unit 38 receives an instruction signal for switching from the orthogonal Nicol to the parallel Nicol, rotates the second polarizing plate 32 by 90 degrees, Return to the state. Alternatively, the second polarizing plate 32 may be fixed and the first polarizing plate 28 may be rotated to switch between the crossed Nicols state and the parallel Nicols state.

  It is known that the reflected light on the surface of the object on which the light is projected is reflected by linearly polarized light having the same polarization plane as the incident light, and the reflected light from the inside of the object is completely depolarized. When it is desired to detect light reflected from the surface of the skin sp by utilizing the polarization dependency of such reflection characteristics, the first polarizing plate 28 and the second polarizing plate 32 are arranged in parallel Nicols, and the skin is When it is desired to detect light reflected after being diffused inside the sp, the first polarizing plate 28 and the second polarizing plate 32 are arranged in crossed Nicols, and the light diffusion state is imaged by the camera 36. Get skin image.

  The illumination unit 14 simultaneously irradiates light on the entire skin sp to be measured. The light that is irradiated onto the entire skin sp simultaneously and reflected by the skin sp is collected by the objective lens 34, passes through the beam splitter 30 and the polarizing plate 32, and is captured by the camera 36 (overall image acquisition unit). It is acquired as a whole image obtained by imaging the whole.

  The image processing device 12 is a computer such as a personal computer, and includes a central processing unit (CPU), a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, an input / output interface, a communication interface, an input device (mouse, keyboard, etc.), a display device (display monitor). ), A known hardware configuration such as a data bus, and various software such as a known operating system and application software are installed. The skin image generation processing unit 50 of the present invention is implemented by executing a skin image generation program that is mounted on the image processing device 12 and stored in the auxiliary storage device. Further, the skin image generation program may be installed from a recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read Only Memory), or may be installed after being downloaded from a storage device of a server connected via a network such as the Internet. Good.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the skin image generation processing unit 50 includes an image reception unit 52, a separation unit 54, an image composition unit 56, an intensity value acquisition unit 58, and a storage unit 60.

  The image reception unit 52 has a function of transmitting and receiving data to and from the skin image acquisition device 10, and the whole image acquired by the skin image acquisition device 10 and a skin image captured by projecting spot-like light onto the skin sp; Position information on the skin sp obtained by projecting spot-like light onto the skin sp at the time of imaging is received and stored in the storage unit 60.

  The skin image acquisition device 10 transmits information on the coordinate values of the XY stage 26 when the skin image is captured as position information on the skin sp onto which spot-like light is projected, together with the skin image, to the image processing device 12. .

  The separation unit 54 separates the entire image into a plurality of element-specific regions where each element exists among a plurality of elements constituting the skin sp to be measured. For example, when the elements constituting the skin sp are classified into a skin mound and a skin groove, they are separated into a skin mound region and a skin groove region. FIG. 3A shows an example of an entire image obtained by simultaneously irradiating the entire skin sp with light. As in the example of FIG. 3A, the hide hill appears on the entire image P as a bright image, and the cuticle appears as a dark image. By binarizing the entire image P using an appropriate threshold, as shown in FIG. 3B, it is divided into two groups, a skin groove region (white portion) and a hill region (black portion). Can do. Information on the positions of the skin groove area and the hide hill area (element-specific area) is acquired as element-specific area information. In the present embodiment, the case where the elements constituting the skin sp are classified into a cuticle and a skin groove will be described below as an example.

  The image composition unit 56 projects an image obtained by projecting spot-shaped light based on the element-specific region information, and the position at which the spot-shaped light is projected belongs to either the skin groove region or the dune region. Accordingly, a composite image of the skin groove region and a composite image of the skin hill region obtained by combining the skin images for each group are generated. The grouping is performed by comparing the positional information received together with the skin image from the image processing device 12 with the positional information of the skin groove area and the positional information of the skin hill area of the elemental area information. The skin image captured while scanning the light projection position using the XY stage 26 is integrated for each group to generate a composite image.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a process of generating a composite image by irradiating spot-like light and synthesizing a skin image obtained by capturing the spread of light reflected from the skin sp with the camera 36. The left side of the equal sign in FIG. 4 is a skin image before synthesis. The leftmost image is a skin image captured by projecting light to the upper right within the imaging target range, and the skin images captured by gradually shifting the light projection position to the left are successively arranged. It is an example of a composite image obtained by integrating skin images in which the right side of an equal sign is arranged on the left side of the equal sign.

  By the way, in a general CMOS camera or CCD camera, noise called dark noise is generated in which the measured value does not become zero even in a completely dark situation. However, an increase in the background value due to the dark noise of the camera is a light source in the result after integration. When the light intensity is sufficiently smaller than the light intensity or when the dark noise can be removed by the setting of the camera itself, it can be synthesized by the simple integration process shown in FIG. When the influence of dark noise cannot be removed by the method of FIG. 4, the entire image (the image on the right side of the minus sign) acquired in a completely dark state is irradiated with light in a spot shape as shown in FIG. By subtracting from the acquired skin image (the image on the left side of the minus sign), the increase in the background value due to dark noise can be subtracted.

  FIG. 6 is a composite image when the simple integration process is performed, and FIG. 7 is a composite image when the dark noise subtraction process is performed. A region indicated by a white dotted line is a region within the imaging target range obtained by scanning a spot of light, and light is not irradiated to other locations. In FIG. 6, the background portion not irradiated with light is brightened by noise, whereas in FIG. 7, it is dark and it can be seen that the influence of dark noise can be removed.

  The image composition unit 56 controls the polarization control unit 38 so that the polarization direction of the incident light and the polarization direction of the reflected light are parallel Nicols, and the polarization direction of the incident light and the polarization direction of the reflected light are orthogonal to each other. A composite image obtained by Nicole is generated for each elemental region. That is, a first skin area composite image obtained by combining the skin image of the skin area when imaged with parallel Nicols and a skin image of the skin area are combined, and a first skin area composite image is generated, A second dermis region composite image obtained by synthesizing the skin image of the skin region when imaged with orthogonal Nicol and a second sulcus region composite image obtained by synthesizing the skin image of the skin region are generated.

  The intensity value acquisition unit 58 acquires a representative intensity value that represents the intensity value of the cuticle region composite image and a representative intensity value that represents the intensity value of the skin groove area composite image. In addition to the representative intensity value of the first dermis area composite image when captured with parallel Nicols and the representative intensity value of the first sulcus area composite image, the second dermis area composition when captured with orthogonal Nicols The representative intensity value of the image and the representative intensity value of the second skin groove area composite image are calculated. The representative intensity value of the skin area composite image may be the average intensity value of the skin area composite image or the median value of the skin area composite image. Further, the representative intensity value of the skin groove area composite image may be an average intensity value of the skin groove area composite image or a median value of the skin groove area composite image.

  Next, a series of flows until a composite image is generated according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS.

  First, according to the flowchart of FIG. 8, the flow of imaging the skin sp by the skin image acquisition device 10 will be described.

  The parallel Nicol switching button of the operation unit 40 of the skin image acquisition device 10 is pressed to change the first polarizing plate 28 and the second polarizing plate 32 to parallel Nicols and start imaging. The skin 36 is imaged by the camera 36 in a completely dark state without being illuminated by the illumination unit 14, and transmitted to the image processing device 12 (S1). Next, the illumination unit 14 performs overall illumination on the skin sp, and the camera 36 captures the skin sp to acquire an entire image, which is transmitted to the image processing apparatus 12 (S2). Subsequently, the XY stage 26 is controlled to move the exit end 24a of the optical fiber 24 to the scanning start position of the imaging target range of the skin sp, and light is emitted from the light source unit 20 to emit spot light on the skin sp. The skin image is captured by the camera 36. At the same time, the coordinate position of the XY stage 26 is acquired and transmitted to the image processing apparatus 12 together with the skin image as positional information of the skin image (S4). The XY stage 26 is controlled to move the exit end 24a of the optical fiber 24 to the next scanning position (S5), light is emitted from the light source unit 20 to project spot-like light onto the skin sp, and the camera 36 Take a skin image with. At the same time, the coordinate position of the XY stage 26 is acquired and transmitted to the image processing apparatus 12 together with the skin image as positional information of the skin image (S4). As described above, until the XY stage 26 moves to the scanning end position of the imaging target range (S3), the imaging of the skin image and the acquisition of the skin image position information (the coordinate value of the XY stage 26) (S4) and the XY stage 26 are performed. Repeat step (S5).

  Subsequently, the orthogonal Nicol switching button of the operation unit 40 of the skin image acquisition apparatus 10 is pressed to change the first polarizing plate 28 and the second polarizing plate 32 to orthogonal Nicols and start imaging. The entire image, skin image, and coordinate position are acquired and transmitted to the image processing device 12 along S1 to S5 as in the case of imaging with parallel Nicols.

  Next, the flow of processing for generating a composite image by the image processing device 12 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The description will be made assuming that the whole image, the skin image, and the position information of the skin image transmitted from the skin image acquisition apparatus 10 are received by the image receiving unit 52 and stored in the storage unit 60 in advance.

  The separation unit 54 divides the entire image captured by illuminating the skin sp with the illuminating unit 14 into two groups, a skin groove region (referred to as group A) and a skin hill region (referred to as group B) (S10). . The image composition unit 56 projects the skin image captured by the camera 36 by projecting spot-like light onto the skin sp with parallel Nicols, and coordinates (i) (i is an integer from 1 to N, 1 is 1 The skin image of the skin image number at the scanning start position and N is the number of the last skin image) is read from the storage unit 60 (S11). First, the skin image at the coordinate (1) is read out and compared with the coordinate (1) and the coordinate of the skin groove area of the group A (S12). If it is classified into group A (S13) and does not match any of the coordinates of the skin groove area, the skin image is classified into group B (S14). Next, the skin image at the coordinate (2) is read out, and compared with the coordinate (2) and the coordinates of the skin groove area of the group A (S12). If (2) is classified into group A (S13) and does not match any of the coordinates of the skin groove area, skin image (2) is classified into group B (S14). While i is incremented, the processes of S10 to S15 are repeated until all skin images are read, that is, until a skin image with coordinates (N) is read. When grouping is completed, the image composition unit 56 subtracts the entire image captured in a completely dark state from each skin image of group A to generate a skin image from which dark noise has been removed, and then integrates all the skin images. Then, a synthesized image (first skin groove area synthesized image) synthesized is generated (S16). Furthermore, the skin image of group B is similarly a composite image obtained by subtracting the entire image captured in a completely dark situation to remove the dark noise, and then integrating and synthesizing all skin images. (1 hide hill region composite image) is generated (S17).

  Subsequently, using the information divided into two groups of the skin groove region (Group A) and the skin hill region (Group B) from the entire image, the skin imaged with orthogonal Nicols in the same manner as the skin image imaged with parallel Nicols The images are also subjected to the processing of S11 to S15, and the skin images are classified into group A and group B. The image composition unit 56 subtracts the entire image captured in a completely dark situation from the group A skin image to generate a skin image from which dark noise has been removed, and then integrates and combines all skin images. A second skin groove area composite image) is generated (S16). Further, after subtracting the entire image captured in a completely dark state from the skin image of group B to generate a skin image from which dark noise has been removed, a composite image (second skin is obtained by integrating all skin images) (Hill area composite image) is generated (S17).

  FIG. 31 shows an example of a composite image. In the present embodiment, the skin image captured using the skin image acquisition device 10 that has designed the optical system is synthesized so that the diameter of the spot-like light is 20 microns. In addition, the data acquired in the present embodiment is that having a sensor size of 6.78 × 5.43 mm. The light detected by the parallel Nicol is the light reflected from the surface of the skin, and the light detected by the crossed Nicol is the light reflected after being diffused into the skin, as shown in FIG. In contrast, images taken with parallel Nicols reflect light reflected on the skin dermis and light reflected on the skin groove, reflecting the shape of each skin part. From the fact that the light is diffused and reflected in the vicinity where the light hits, it can be seen that the crossed Nicols measure the light reflected after being diffused into the skin.

  Further, the intensity value acquisition unit 58 obtains the average values of the intensity values of the first skin groove area composite image and the first skin hill area composite image when imaged with parallel Nicols for RGB. Similarly, the average values of the intensity values of the second skin groove region composite image and the second skin hill region composite image when imaged with crossed Nicols are respectively obtained for RGB. FIG. 10A shows the average intensity values of the parallel Nicol skin area and the skin groove area, and FIG. 10B shows the average intensity values of the crossed Nicole skin area and the skin groove area. Show.

  In each state of parallel Nicols and crossed Nicols, comparing the average intensity value of the image of the skin and the skin groove in FIG. 10, in parallel Nicol (reflection on the skin surface), the skin was exposed to light. When the light hits the skin groove, it is strongly reflected when the light hits the cuticle, but in crossed Nicol (reflection after being diffused inside the skin), when the light hits the skin groove It can be seen that the light is strongly reflected.

  As described above, the combination of the composite image obtained by the configuration of the present invention and the intensity value data increases the transparency of the skin when more light strikes the skin groove area than the skin hill area. I understand. In this way, by classifying into various skin constituent elements and obtaining composite image and intensity value data, it is possible to predict elements that lead to an increase in skin transparency.

  Next, a second embodiment will be described. 2nd Embodiment demonstrates the case where the light which the light diffused inside the skin is observed from the point irradiated with light. In this case, the first polarizing plate 28 and the second polarizing plate 32 of FIG. 1 described in the first embodiment are removed, and an image is taken by the camera 36. Since the skin image acquisition apparatus has the same configuration as the skin image acquisition apparatus 10 of the first embodiment except that the polarizing plate is removed, detailed description thereof is omitted. In the skin image generation processing unit 50a of the image processing apparatus 12, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, detailed description thereof is omitted, and only configurations different from those of the first embodiment will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 30, the skin image generation processing unit 50a of the image processing apparatus 12 according to the second embodiment includes an image reception unit 52, a separation unit 54, an image composition unit 56a, and an intensity value acquisition unit 58a. And the storage unit 60.

  Since the skin is a translucent substance, light is diffused and emitted inside the skin, and the light incident point and the light emission point do not always coincide. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, when the entire surface is irradiated with light, the light C observed at the exit point X is superimposed on the light A entered from the incident point A and the light B entered from the incident point B. It becomes. The light diffused and reflected inside the skin is particularly related to the transparency of human skin, and it is said that as the amount of light increases, the skin becomes more transparent and beautiful. In other words, in order to create a beautiful and highly transparent image, it is necessary to increase the amount of light diffused and reflected inside the skin. To that end, it is first necessary to evaluate the light diffused and reflected inside the skin. There is.

  Therefore, the image composition unit 56a synthesizes the skin groove area in which the skin image is synthesized for each group according to which group of the skin groove area and the skin mound area the position at which the spot-like light is projected belongs. When generating the composite image of the image and the skin hill region, in order to observe the light diffused inside the skin sp, an image of only the light portion reflected by the light diffused inside the skin is synthesized.

  In order to observe the diffusely reflected light, as shown in FIG. 12, only the emitted light at the position Q that is separated from the spot position light diameter d from the center position C where the spot-shaped light is projected is synthesized. To do. For example, as shown in FIG. 13, from the skin image, only the area (white area) surrounded by the distance r from the center position C of the spot-like light and the coordinates separated by the distance r + Δr is left, and the other areas ( Replace the value in the gray area with 0. By accumulating this, as shown in FIG. 14, it is possible to generate a composite image in which only spotted light is diffused and reflected from a position away from the incident point by a specific distance. it can. Such a composite image can visualize only light diffused by a certain distance from the light irradiation unit.

  Alternatively, when the position where the spot-like light is projected is the skin groove area, only the emitted light of the part of the hide hill area is synthesized, and the position where the spot-like light is projected is the hide hill area Alternatively, only the emitted light in the skin groove region may be synthesized. For example, from the skin image when the position where the spot-like light is projected is the skin groove region, based on the region-specific region information, the portion corresponding to the skin hill region is left and the value of the skin groove region is replaced with 0. . By accumulating this, a combined image of light emitted from the skin groove area and light emitted from the skin mound area is generated. Similarly, based on the element-specific region information, the portion corresponding to the skin groove region is left based on the skin image when the position where the spot-like light is projected is the skin region, and the value of the skin region is set to 0. Replace with By accumulating this, a composite image of light emitted from the skin groove region is generated by light incident from the skin region.

  A series of flow until generating a composite image in the present embodiment is the same as that in the first embodiment, but in the first embodiment, the imaging target range is scanned twice with parallel Nicols and vertical Nicols. However, in the present embodiment, skin images obtained by scanning the imaging target range only once are grouped to generate two groups of combined images.

  Here, the intensity value of the human skin image acquired while illuminating the entire skin in the absence of the polarizing plate, and the skin image obtained by imaging the light reflected and diffused inside the skin by projecting spot-like light The difference in the intensity value of the composite image will be described.

  FIG. 15 shows a human skin image (FIG. 16A) acquired while illuminating the entire skin in the absence of a polarizing plate, and is binarized to divide it into a skin part and a skin groove part. (FIG. 16 (B)), the intensity values of the images at the respective positions are normalized by area and graphed. As can be seen from the overall image, the intensity value in the skin is higher and the skin is brighter. However, according to this measuring method, only information on the light emission point on the skin can be obtained, and it is not known where the light enters from.

  FIG. 17 shows a scan of spot-like light (with a diameter of 20 microns) in the absence of a polarizing plate, picked up with a camera 36, and the incident points of the acquired images are divided into two groups, a skin mound region and a skin groove region. The graph shows the average of the light emitted from the cuticle when it hits the skin and the average of the intensity value of the light emitted from the cuticle when hitting the skin. In both cases, the position of the incident point and the position of the exit point do not match, but the intensity of the light hitting the skin groove is higher than that of the light hitting the skin hill. It can be seen that the light hitting the grooves is more diffused than the light hitting the cuticles.

  In the first and second embodiments, the case where the measurement object is skin has been described. For example, a material having a characteristic texture such as Japanese paper or cloth, or the material has non-uniformity and semi-transparency. It is possible to measure the reflection of light on the surface of the measurement object and the light diffused and reflected inside the measurement object.

  In the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which the illumination unit 14 simultaneously irradiates light on the entire skin sp to be measured to acquire an entire image, but the measurement environment is sufficiently bright with respect to the sensitivity of the camera. Can capture the entire image without using the illumination unit 14.

  Next, various modifications of the skin image acquisition device 10 will be described. Although a polarizing plate control unit is provided in FIG. 1, the polarizing plate control unit and the operation unit are not shown in the following modification.

  As shown in FIG. 18, a beam splitter 31 is provided between the second polarizing plate 32 and the camera 36-1, and the same field of view is divided into two directions to be imaged by two cameras 36-1 and 36-2. It is also good. If the exposure time settings of the two cameras 36-1 and 36-2 are changed in such a configuration, the dynamic range of light that can be imaged within the same field of view is wider than that of a single camera. be able to.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 19, the arrangement of the second polarizing plates 32-1 and 32-2 is placed immediately before each of the two cameras 36-1 and 36-2, and the first light source unit 20 side first If the arrangement relationship with the polarizing plate 28 is two types of parallel Nicols and orthogonal Nicols, the light reflected from the surface of the measuring object sp in the same visual field and the light reflected from the inside can be acquired simultaneously. Although two cameras are used here, a combination of a beam splitter and a camera can be increased as necessary and a plurality of cameras can be used as long as the light irradiated to the measurement target sp can be detected.

  Not limited to the finite system as shown in FIGS. 1, 18 and 19, it may be an infinite system as shown in FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 20 to 22, an exit lens 25 is provided on the exit end 24 a side of the optical fiber 24, and a camera lens 33 is provided in front of the camera 36. The beam splitters 30, 31 and the polarizing plates 28, 32, 32-1, 32-2 are the same as those shown in FIGS. If the focal length of the exit lens 25 is f1, the focal length of the objective lens 34 is f2, the light source imaging magnification is (f2 / f1), and if the focal length of the camera lens 33 is f3, the camera imaging magnification is (F3 / f2). Further, the combination of the core diameter of the optical fiber 24 and the sensor size of the camera 36 makes the spot diameter d <the width i of the imaging target range.

  As a method of moving the light spot, the projection position of the spot-like light emitted from the optical fiber 24 may be changed using a galvano scanner 27 as shown in FIG. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 24, the direction of the light emitted from the light source unit 20 is changed by the mirror 35, the spot-like light is projected to the measurement target sp through the pinhole 29, and the pinhole 29 is moved. The projection position of the spot-like light may be changed, and as shown in FIG. 25, the light emitted from the light source unit 20 is changed in direction by the mirror 35, and the pixel is irradiated with the light using the spatial modulator 37. May be scanned.

  As shown in FIG. 26, the measurement object sp may be scanned by moving the XY stage 26 after integrating the optical fiber 24 from the exit end 24a to the camera 36 into the housing 19 and integrating them. . Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 27, the measurement target sp may be placed on the XY stage 26a and moved.

  When there is a restriction on how to place the measurement target sp, such as a human face, the arrangement shown in FIG. 28 can be made so that the light scanning direction is the vertical direction.

  1 and 18 to 28 are arranged such that the angle formed by the direction of the light reflected from the measurement target sp imaged by the camera 36 and the direction of projecting the spot-like light is 0 °, as shown in FIG. In addition, an arrangement may be made in which the angle θ formed by the projection direction of the light reflected from the measurement object sp and the spot-like light is not 0 °. In the example of FIG. 29, the beam splitter 30 is not provided, and the light emitted from the exit end 24a of the optical fiber 24 is condensed by the objective lens 34a through the first polarizing plate 28 and spot-shaped on the measurement target sp. Of light. The light reflected by the measurement target sp is collected by the objective lens 34 b and passes through the second polarizing plate 32 and is imaged by the camera 36.

  As explained in detail above, an image captured while moving the light spot is acquired and synthesized. At that time, for example, attention was paid to skin spots and pores that were evaluated as having low transparency in sensory evaluation. If you want to analyze, (1) stains, (2) pores, (3) other groups, and the group of skin images when the light spot hits the coordinates of each group Synthesize. By analyzing these and comparing the appearance and intensity values of the composite image, it is possible to determine whether the factor affecting the sensory evaluation is a stain, a pore, or the transparency of other skin parts. Can do.

  For the purpose of analyzing skin appearance, the light source (sunlight, fluorescent light, LED (light emitting diode) illumination, etc.) in which the skin is placed and the spectrum of the light source used for measurement are matched. Therefore, a measurement reflecting a more accurate appearance is possible.

  In addition, a blue light source may be used when conspicuous near the surface layer of the skin, and a red light source may be used when conspicuous near the deep layer of the skin. When it is desired to make a measurement focusing on a spot or a blood vessel, it is possible to make the measurement stand out by selecting a wavelength having absorption at the focused site. A light source outside the visible range may be used, such as using UV light to investigate the influence of ultraviolet light, or using near-infrared light to investigate light diffusion characteristics in deeper layers. .

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where a xenon lamp light source is used as a white light source as the light source unit has been described. However, a halogen lamp, an LED light source, or a laser light source may be used, or light sources of a plurality of colors are used. A desired color may be synthesized.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Skin optical measurement apparatus 10 Skin image acquisition apparatus 11 Aperture part 12 Image processing apparatus 14 Illumination part 18, 19 Case 20 Light source part 22 Lens 24 Optical fiber 24a Outlet 25 Exit lens 26, 26a XY stage 27 Galvano scanner 28 One polarizing plate 29 Pinhole 30, 31 Beam splitter 32, 32-1, 32-2 Second polarizing plate 33 Camera lens 34, 34a, 34b Objective lens 35 Mirror 36, 36-1 Imaging unit 37 Spatial modulator 38 Polarization control unit 40 Operation unit 50, 50a Skin image generation processing unit 52 Image reception unit 54 Separation unit 56, 56a Image composition unit 58, 58a Intensity value acquisition unit 60 Storage unit

Claims (15)

A projection unit for projecting spot-like light, which is collected light emitted from the light source unit, onto the skin to be measured;
An imaging unit that images light reflected from the measurement target at a position where the spot-like light is projected onto the measurement target;
A scanning unit that scans the spot-like light with respect to the measurement object;
An image obtained by imaging the measurement target with the imaging unit while scanning the position on the measurement target on which the spot-shaped light is projected using the scanning unit, and each element among the plurality of elements constituting the measurement target Based on the elemental region information obtained by dividing the measurement object into a plurality of elemental regions, the image is captured into the group of the elemental regions to which the position where the spot-like light is projected belongs. A skin image generation apparatus comprising: an image synthesis unit that generates a synthesized image obtained by synthesizing the image for each group.   The composite image is an image obtained by integrating the image obtained by projecting the spot-shaped light onto the measurement target and integrating the image according to the elemental region to which the position where the spot-shaped light is projected belongs. Item 1. A skin image generating apparatus according to Item 1.   When synthesizing each image captured by projecting the spot-like light onto the measurement object, the image synthesis unit is separated from the center position where the spot-like light is projected among the images by a predetermined distance or more. The skin image generation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a composite image is generated by combining only image portions. The plurality of elements are hides and grooves,
The region by element is a skin region where the hide skin exists and a skin groove region where the skin groove exists,
The image synthesizing unit synthesizes an image obtained by projecting the spot-like light onto a plurality of positions on the cuticle area and combines the images, and the spots at a plurality of positions on the cutaneous area. The skin image generation apparatus of Claim 1 or 2 which produces | generates the skin groove area synthetic | combination image which synthesize | combines the image imaged by projecting the shape-like light.   5. The skin according to claim 4, further comprising: a first intensity value acquisition unit that acquires a representative intensity value representative of the intensity value of the cuticle region composite image and a representative intensity value representative of the intensity value of the skin groove region composite image. Image generation device. A first polarizer provided between the light source unit and the measurement object, and a second polarizer provided between the measurement object and the imaging unit,
A polarization controller that controls at least one of a polarization direction in which incident light to the measurement object is polarized by the first polarizer and a polarization direction in which reflected light from the measurement object is polarized by the second polarizer; Prepared,
The image synthesizing unit, the polarization controller the combined image obtained by the parallel control to the polarization direction of the incident light polarization direction of the reflected light, and, prior to the polarization control unit control to control The skin image generation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the composite image obtained by making the polarization direction of the incident light and the polarization direction of the reflected light orthogonal to each other is generated for each element-specific region. The plurality of elements are hides and grooves,
When the image synthesizing unit makes the polarization direction of the incident light and the polarization direction of the reflected light parallel to each other, it projects the spot-like light to a plurality of positions on the skin region where the skin layer exists. A composite image is generated by synthesizing the captured images, and a first image is generated by projecting the spot-like light onto a plurality of positions on the skin groove area where the skin groove exists. Generating a first skin groove region composite image; and
When the polarization direction of the incident light and the polarization direction of the reflected light are perpendicular, an image obtained by projecting the spot-like light onto a plurality of dune positions on the dune region where the dune exists is captured. A synthesized second hide hill region synthesized image is generated, and a second image is obtained by synthesizing an image captured by projecting the spot-like light onto a plurality of gap positions on the gap area where the gap exists. The skin image generation apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a skin groove region composite image is generated. Strength of the representative intensity value and the first Kawamizo regional composite image representing the intensity of the obtained first skin bump area synthesized image in the parallel polarization direction of the polarization direction as the reflected light of the incident light A representative intensity value representative of the value, a representative intensity value representative of the intensity value of the second skin region composite image obtained by making the polarization direction of the incident light and the polarization direction of the reflected light orthogonal, and the first The skin image generating apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising: a second intensity value acquiring unit that acquires a representative intensity value representing the intensity value of the two skin groove region composite images. Representative intensity values of the skin bump regional composite image is an average intensity value of the skin hill region synthesized picture image,
The skin image generating apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein the representative intensity value of the skin groove area composite image is an average intensity value of the skin groove area composite image . The representative intensity value of the first skin region composite image is an average intensity value of the first skin region composite image,
The representative intensity value of the first flute region composite image is an average intensity value of the first flute region composite image,
The representative intensity value of the second skin area composite image is an average intensity value of the second skin area composite image,
The skin image generating apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the representative intensity value of the second skin groove area composite image is an average intensity value of the second skin groove area composite image. An irradiator that simultaneously irradiates light on the entire skin to be measured; and
An overall image acquisition unit for acquiring an entire image obtained by imaging the measurement object irradiated by the irradiation unit;
A separation unit that separates the entire image into the skin region and the skin groove region;
The image synthesizing unit synthesizes an image captured by projecting the spot-like light at a position on the measurement target corresponding to the skin area of the whole image to generate the skin area synthetic image. , according to claim 4, wherein for generating the said spots of said skin groove area synthesized image by synthesizing an image captured by projecting light to the position on the measurement object corresponding to the skin groove area of the whole image Skin image generation device. An irradiator that simultaneously irradiates light on the entire skin to be measured; and
An overall image acquisition unit for acquiring an entire image obtained by imaging the measurement object irradiated by the irradiation unit;
A separation unit that separates the entire image into the skin region and the skin groove region;
When the polarization direction of the incident light and the polarization direction of the reflected light are parallel to each other, the image synthesis unit emits the spot-like light at a position on the measurement target corresponding to the skin region of the whole image. The projected and imaged image is combined to generate the first hide hill region combined image, and the spot-like light is projected to the position on the measurement object corresponding to the cutaneous region of the whole image. Generating the first flute region composite image by combining the images captured
When the polarization direction of the incident light and the polarization direction of the reflected light are perpendicular to each other, the spot-like light is projected onto a position on the measurement target corresponding to the skin area of the whole image. An image obtained by projecting the spot-like light onto a position on the measurement object corresponding to the skin groove region of the entire image is generated by combining the images to generate the second hide hill region composite image. The skin image generating device according to claim 7, wherein the second skin groove region combined image is generated by combining. The skin image generating apparatus according to claim 11 or 12 , wherein the separation unit separates the whole image into the cuticle region and the skin groove region by binarizing the whole image. A projection unit for projecting spot-like light, which is collected light emitted from the light source unit, onto the skin to be measured;
An imaging unit that images light reflected from the measurement target at a position where the spot-like light is projected onto the measurement target;
An operation method of a skin image generation apparatus comprising a scanning unit that scans the spot-like light with respect to the measurement object,
An imaging step of imaging the measurement object with the imaging unit while scanning the position on the measurement object to project the spot-shaped light using the scanning unit;
Based on element-specific area information obtained by dividing the measurement object into a plurality of element-specific areas where each element is present among the elements constituting the measurement object, an image obtained by projecting the spot-like light is captured. A method of operating a skin image generation apparatus, comprising: a composite image generation step for generating a composite image by combining the image for each group divided into groups of the elemental regions to which the position where the spot-like light is projected belongs . A projection unit for projecting spot-like light, which is collected light emitted from the light source unit, onto the skin to be measured;
An imaging unit that images light reflected from the measurement target at a position where the spot-like light is projected onto the measurement target;
A computer of a skin image generation apparatus comprising a scanning unit that scans the spot-like light with respect to the measurement object;
An image obtained by imaging the measurement target with the imaging unit while scanning the position on the measurement target on which the spot-shaped light is projected using the scanning unit, and each element among the plurality of elements constituting the measurement target Based on the elemental region information obtained by dividing the measurement object into a plurality of elemental regions, the image is captured into the group of the elemental regions to which the position where the spot-like light is projected belongs. A skin image generation program for functioning as an image synthesis unit that generates a synthesized image obtained by synthesizing the image for each group.