Skin evaluation method and image simulation method

• US 7,336,810 B2
• Filed: 12/10/2003
• Issued: 02/26/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: KOSE Corporation
• Original Assignee: KOSE Corporation
• Inventors: Sasaki, Ichiro, Fujii, Makoto, Horikoshi, Emina, Someya, Takao, Misaki, Yuko
• Primary Examiner(s): Ahmed; Samir
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bitar; Nancy
• Application Number:
  US10/560,136
• Publication Number:
  US 20070092160A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,539 Days
• Field of Search: 382/128, 382/286, 382/108, 356/600, 356/369, 356/445, 600/476, 600/407
• US Class Current: 382/128
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0059 using light, e.g. diagnosis by transillumination, diascopy, fluorescence A61B5/0093, A61B5/1455, A61B5/02416 and A61B5/0261 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/442 Evaluating skin mechanical properties, e.g. elasticity, hardness, texture, wrinkle assessment
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/726 using Wavelet transforms

Abstract

A skin beauty evaluation method for imaging an object such as human face to obtain digital image data, extracting data on a mirror reflection light component of each pixel from the digital image data and evaluating the skin sheen and skin beauty by using this. A simulation image obtaining method is also disclosed.

By using these methods, it is possible to objectively evaluate the skin sheen and beauty which have been conventionally evaluated only subjectively. Thus, the methods are useful for development of a new skin cosmetic material.

Moreover, by using a polarized light source, a digital camera to which polarization filter can be attached and a computer having a predetermined calculation or analysis equation, it is possible to easily evaluate the customer skin sheen and beauty and perform simulation of the face state of a test subject after improvement of the skin state or makeup. Accordingly, the methods are also hopeful for promoting sale of cosmetics at the cosmetic counter of a department store, or at a cosmetic store or a drug store.

Claims

1. A method for evaluating the beauty of a skin, comprising:

(B1) imaging a target skin under a polarized lighting and obtaining digital image data;

(B2) imaging the same target skin under the polarized lighting by using a polarizing filter having a plane of polarization orthogonal to the plane of polarization of the polarized lighting and obtaining digital image data;

(B3) extracting data of a mirror-reflected light component from the digital image data obtained in steps (B1) and (B2);

(B4) performing multiresolution analysis on the data of the mirror-reflected light component extracted in step (B3), separating the data into data of a plurality of different frequency components, and selecting data of a plurality of high frequency components;

(B5) synthesizing the selected high frequency components and defining the synthesized data as reconstructed image data;

(B6) determining the dispersion of respective pixel components in terms of the reconstructed image data; and

(B7) associating an average value from values of the dispersion obtained in step (B6) with the beauty of the skin.

2. The method for evaluating the beauty of a skin according to claim 1, wherein extraction of data of a mirror-reflected light component in step (B3) is made by using a dichromatic reflection model and a Moor-Penrose generalized inverse matrix.

3. The method for evaluating the beauty of a skin according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the multiresolution analysis in step (B4) is performed by repeating wavelet transformation and inverse wavelet transformation to separate a mirror-reflected light component into data of a plurality of different frequency components.