Image-Based Face Recognition Techniques Used in Disease Detection Approaches: A Survey

Abstract

Facial diseases lead to noticeable changes on the human face, and some of them extend beyond internal effects or organ-based disorders. Indeed, certain types of facial diseases result in visually noticeable abnormalities on the human face. These alterations in facial patterns can serve as potential indicators for corresponding diseases, particularly in the fields of endocrinology and metabolism, Muscles-Nervous disorders, Chromosomes, and Genetic disorders, among others. Technologies used in Face Recognition (FR) have been developed over the past few decades; however, only a limited amount of research has been applied in recent years to FR-based disease detection for clinical purposes. FR applications relying on Artificial Neural Network (ANN) techniques have recorded higher accuracy rates in diagnosing facial diseases. This field of recognition holds promising potential for optimizing facial diagnosis approaches and supporting medical staff in evaluating detections. In practice, only a few research ideas have been translated into medical products, emphasizing the need to identify and integrate future applications. As a primary focus, this paper centers on the key applications and technologies for detecting various types of facial diseases, along with a discussion of prospects.