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Title: Classification of breast computed tomography data

Abstract

Differences in breast tissue composition are important determinants in assessing risk, identifying disease in images and following changes over time. This paper presents an algorithm for tissue classification that separates breast tissue into its three primary constituents of skin, fat and glandular tissue. We have designed and built a dedicated breast CT scanner. Fifty-five normal volunteers and patients with mammographically identified breast lesions were scanned. Breast CT voxel data were filtered using a 5 pt median filter and the image histogram was computed. A two compartment Gaussian fit of histogram data was used to provide an initial estimate of tissue compartments. After histogram analysis, data were input to region-growing algorithms and classified as to belonging to skin, fat or gland based on their value and architectural features. Once tissues were classified, a more detailed analysis of glandular tissue patterns and a more quantitative analysis of breast composition was made. Algorithm performance assessment demonstrated very good or excellent agreement between algorithm and radiologist observers in 97.7% of the segmented data. We observed that even in dense breasts the fraction of glandular tissue seldom exceeded 50%. For most individuals the composition is better characterized as being a 70% (fat)-30% (gland) composition thanmore » a 50% (fat)-50% (gland) composition.« less

Authors:
; ; ;  [1]
  1. Department of Radiology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92037-0610 (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
21036173
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Medical Physics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 35; Journal Issue: 3; Other Information: DOI: 10.1118/1.2839439; (c) 2008 American Association of Physicists in Medicine; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0094-2405
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE; ALGORITHMS; BIOCHEMISTRY; BIOMEDICAL RADIOGRAPHY; CARCINOMAS; COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY; FATS; GAUSSIAN PROCESSES; IMAGE PROCESSING; IMAGES; MAMMARY GLANDS; PATIENTS; SKIN

Citation Formats

Nelson, Thomas R, Cervino, Laura I, Boone, John M, Lindfors, Karen K, and University of California Davis Medical Center, 4860 Y Street, Ambulatory Care Center Suite 3100, Sacramento, California 95817. Classification of breast computed tomography data. United States: N. p., 2008. Web. doi:10.1118/1.2839439.
Nelson, Thomas R, Cervino, Laura I, Boone, John M, Lindfors, Karen K, & University of California Davis Medical Center, 4860 Y Street, Ambulatory Care Center Suite 3100, Sacramento, California 95817. Classification of breast computed tomography data. United States. https://doi.org/10.1118/1.2839439
Nelson, Thomas R, Cervino, Laura I, Boone, John M, Lindfors, Karen K, and University of California Davis Medical Center, 4860 Y Street, Ambulatory Care Center Suite 3100, Sacramento, California 95817. 2008. "Classification of breast computed tomography data". United States. https://doi.org/10.1118/1.2839439.
@article{osti_21036173,
title = {Classification of breast computed tomography data},
author = {Nelson, Thomas R and Cervino, Laura I and Boone, John M and Lindfors, Karen K and University of California Davis Medical Center, 4860 Y Street, Ambulatory Care Center Suite 3100, Sacramento, California 95817},
abstractNote = {Differences in breast tissue composition are important determinants in assessing risk, identifying disease in images and following changes over time. This paper presents an algorithm for tissue classification that separates breast tissue into its three primary constituents of skin, fat and glandular tissue. We have designed and built a dedicated breast CT scanner. Fifty-five normal volunteers and patients with mammographically identified breast lesions were scanned. Breast CT voxel data were filtered using a 5 pt median filter and the image histogram was computed. A two compartment Gaussian fit of histogram data was used to provide an initial estimate of tissue compartments. After histogram analysis, data were input to region-growing algorithms and classified as to belonging to skin, fat or gland based on their value and architectural features. Once tissues were classified, a more detailed analysis of glandular tissue patterns and a more quantitative analysis of breast composition was made. Algorithm performance assessment demonstrated very good or excellent agreement between algorithm and radiologist observers in 97.7% of the segmented data. We observed that even in dense breasts the fraction of glandular tissue seldom exceeded 50%. For most individuals the composition is better characterized as being a 70% (fat)-30% (gland) composition than a 50% (fat)-50% (gland) composition.},
doi = {10.1118/1.2839439},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/21036173}, journal = {Medical Physics},
issn = {0094-2405},
number = 3,
volume = 35,
place = {United States},
year = {Sat Mar 15 00:00:00 EDT 2008},
month = {Sat Mar 15 00:00:00 EDT 2008}
}