Evaluation of Kampo disease states using facial images

Abstract

In the traditional Japanese (Kampo) medicine, diagnosis is based on the observation of facial color and expression. Disease states that are diagnosable from facial characteristics include blood stagnation, blood deficiency, and yin deficiency. However, these diagnoses are subjective and require lots of experience. In this paper, we aimed to quantify facial diagnosis by creating a system to evaluate the severity of disease states using feature values obtained from facial images. A Kampo physician evaluated the facial images and rated them from 1 to 5 according to severity of disease states. We verified the accuracy of this system using the mean squared error calculated from the difference between the physician evaluation scores and the system estimates. The mean squared error was close to zero, indicating that the system has high accuracy. The selection of feature values using this system corresponded with those facial regions used by the Kampo physician in diagnosing the disease states.

Development of telemedicine tools with an emphasis on visual observation

“…Our previous studies demonstrated that tongue color reflects the diagnosis in Kampo medicine [ 19 ], and evaluation of Kampo Disease State is possible with images of the face and tongue [ 20 , 21 ]. Facial color diagnosis is also an important diagnostic method in Kampo medicine and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).…”

Creating a Diagnostic Assistance System for Diseases in Kampo Medicine

“…As in Matsushita et al [6], after each of the four Kampo doctors made a diagnosis, machine learning was performed using each evaluation as the ground truth. In this study, it was found that individual differences were generated among doctors in their evaluation of tongue images.…”

“…Table 1 lists diseases that can be diagnosed based on an inspection of the face and tongue of the patient using Kampo medicine. To computerize descriptive diagnosis, Matsushita et al [6] proposed a method to assess diseases of Kampo medicine using the facial images of patients. Blood deficiency, blood stagnation, and yin deficiency can be diagnosed using facial images.…”