Smartphone Facial Image Analysis Technology to Measure Sebum, Melanin Levels, Pigmentation or Cell Turnover

NineSigma, representing Shiseido* (http://www.shiseidogroup.jp/), seeks analysis of photographic images taken by smartphones  that can enable measurement of any one of indices such as sebum, melanin levels, pigmentation, or cell turnover in facial skin. Shiseido believes that many such technologies have already been developed and implemented and hopes to receive proposals from organizations with experience in this area.

We are aiming to implement proposed technologies and ideas on commercial products (apps), which are due to be released in 2020.

*Shiseido: SHISEIDO CO., LTD. and SHISEIDO JAPAN CO., LTD.

Requirement of the face picture for analysis

Images must conform to the following size and include the entire face of the targets (Japanese people).

Fig. An example of face picture for analysis

• Size: 1932×2576 pixels (The standard is a popular iPhone’s front camera)

The development target

• All or any of the following measurement items or alternative indices correlated to those items can be measured by processing the aforementioned photographic images taken by smartphones.
  • Sebum level
    • The condition of the skin sebum must be measurable by analyzing the oiliness, stickiness, gloss, smoothness.
  • Melanin level
    • Not local color irregularity such as spots and freckles but the melanin level as overall ground color of the skin must be measurable.
  • Local melanin pigmentation
    • Spots and freckles of skin surface must be measurable by analyzing the local melanin pigmentation.
  • Skin cell turnover
    • The skin cell turnover must be measurable by analyzing the skin stiffness or roughness, etc.
    • Specific analysis object related to the skin cell turnover
      • Phenomena by a fast turnover: dry skin, rough skin (parakeratosis)
      • Phenomena by a slow turnover: stiffness, dullness

*Theory of skin cell turnover: A cell called keratinocytes produced in stratum basale move upward to the stratum corneum on the skin surface in 4 weeks. 2 weeks after the cell moved up to the skin surface, the surface cells die and cast off as scurf. This 6-week process is called turnover.

• The technology must enable the analysis of the aforementioned physical properties of the entire face in the photograph, rather than just parts of the face.
• It is preferable that the measured indices have a correlation with a measurement result by skin diagnostic apparatus for research.
• It is preferable that the technology be capable of consistent analysis of images taken in various lighting environments with varying lighting sources and positions. However, we also welcome technologies to analyze images taken with specific lighting sources and positions.