Image processing for evaluation of papilla clearness of dried sea cucumber products

Abstract

We aimed to establish an objective method to evaluate the quality of dried sea cucumber products. Clearness of papillae on the body wall affects the quality and commercial value of this luxury seafood. Unfortunately, an objective method for evaluating papilla clearness remains to be developed. We digitalized clearness of papillae from dried sea cucumber products images using TouchDeMeasure. This software application was developed by the authors. Using this tool, we measured body length (BL), total perimeter including all papillae (TP), and ellipse perimeter excluding the papillae (EP). Results showed that TP/BL, TP/EP, and (TP-EP)/BL values for a clear papilla were significantly higher than those for an unclear papilla. Additionally, we confirmed that these parameters corresponded with the grading levels used by a connoisseur. These experimental results show that our method digitally analyzes the clearness of papillae to evaluate the quality of dried sea cucumber products.