AUTOMATED DETECTION OF CLUSTERED MICROCALCIFICATIONS FROM DIGITAL MAMMOGRAMS

摘要

A method, and a system, for detecting and displaying clustered microcalcifications in a digital mammogram wherein a digital mammogram is obtained (100), automatically cropped (200) to a breast area sub-image, and processed by means of an optimized difference of Gaussians filter to enhance the appearance of potential microcalcifications in the sub-image. The potential microcalcifications are thresholded, clusters are detected (300), false positive cluster detections are removed by means of a Gabor filter (800), features are computed for the remaining detected clusters, and the clusters are classified (400) as either suspicious or not suspicious by means of a neural network. Suspicious clusters are processed for display (600) and the locations in the original digital mammogram of the suspicious clustered microcalcifications are displayed (700). The results of the system are optimally combined with a radiologist's observation of the original mammogram by combining the observations with the results, after the radiologist has first accepted or rejected individual detections reported by the system.