Method and apparatus for automatic muscle segmentation in digital mammograms
US6035056A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 27, 1997 |
| Grant date | Mar 7, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 27, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06T2207/30096
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus for the automatic segmentation of the pectoral muscle boundary in a digital mammogram is disclosed. Parameters of the pectoral boundary line are determined by calculating gradient magnitudes of the digital mammogram in a region of interest, accumulating the gradient magnitudes into a parameter plane according to a Hough transform, and using information in the parameter plane for identifying the pectoral boundary. Prior to being accumulated in the parameter plane, the gradient magnitudes are weighted by a monotonic, multi-bit weighting function designed to exhibit larger variations near more densely populated levels of gradient magnitudes, and designed to exhibit smaller variations near less densely populated levels of gradient magnitudes, for allowing greater robustness against variations in gradient magnitudes among different digital mammograms.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.