{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,27]],"date-time":"2026-03-27T18:05:38Z","timestamp":1774634738530,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":18,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,3,24]],"date-time":"2020-03-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1585008000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["J. Imaging"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Vitiligo vulgaris is an autoimmune disease which causes a strong reduction of the cells producing melanin, which is the main skin pigment. This results in the growth of white patches on patients\u2019 skin, which are more or less visible, depending on the skin phototype. Precise, objective and fast detection of vitiligo patches would be crucial to produce statistically relevant data on huge populations, thus giving an insight on the disease. However, few methods are available in literature. In the present paper, a semi-automatic tool based on image processing to detect facial vitiligo patches is described. The tool requires pictures to be captured under black light illumination, which enhances patches contrast with respect to healthy skin. The user is only required to roughly define the regions of interest and set a global threshold, thus, no specific image-processing skills are required. An adaptive algorithm then automatically discerns between vitiligo and healthy skin pixels. The tools also allow for a statistical data interpretation by overlapping the detected patches of all patients on a face template through an occurrence map. Preliminary results obtained on a small population of 15 patients allowed us to assess the tool\u2019s performance. Patch detection was checked by an experienced dermatologist, who confirmed the detection for all the studied patients, thus supporting the effectiveness of the proposed tool.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/jimaging6030014","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,3,24]],"date-time":"2020-03-24T13:04:04Z","timestamp":1585055044000},"page":"14","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Semi-Automatic Tool for Vitiligo Detection and Analysis"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"6","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0730-0893","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Paolo","family":"Neri","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Civil and Industrial Engineering, University of Pisa, 56122 Pisa, Italy"}]},{"given":"Michela","family":"Fiaschi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dermacademy Institute for Dermatological Sciences and Aesthetic Medicine, 56121 Pisa, Italy"}]},{"given":"Giovanni","family":"Menchini","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dermacademy Institute for Dermatological Sciences and Aesthetic Medicine, 56121 Pisa, Italy"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,3,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"331","DOI":"10.1111\/bjd.13160","article-title":"Possible patterns of epidermal melanocyte disappearance in nonsegmental vitiligo: A clinicopathological study","volume":"172","author":"Benzekri","year":"2014","journal-title":"Br. J. Dermatol."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Raam, L., Kaleviste, E., \u0160unina, M., Vaher, H., Saare, M., Prans, E., Pihlap, M., Abram, K., Karelson, M., and Peterson, P. (2018). Lymphoid Stress Surveillance Response Contributes to Vitiligo Pathogenesis. Front. Immunol., 9.","DOI":"10.3389\/fimmu.2018.02707"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"811","DOI":"10.1590\/abd1806-4841.20176154","article-title":"Prepubertal and postpubertal vitiligo: A multivariate comparative study in 375 patients","volume":"92","author":"Khurrum","year":"2017","journal-title":"An. Bras. Dermatol."},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"341","DOI":"10.1111\/ijd.13425","article-title":"Effects of age of onset on disease characteristics in non-segmental vitiligo","volume":"56","author":"Solak","year":"2017","journal-title":"Int. J. 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