Patent · US Expired

Method and system for detection of suspicious lesions in digital mammograms using a combination of spiculation and density signals

US6198838A · kind A · utility

66Cited by
12References
20Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateAug 27, 1998
Grant dateMar 6, 2001
Priority date
Expiry dateAug 27, 2018

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06V2201/03
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

A method and system for detecting suspicious portions of digital mammograms by using independently calculated mass and spiculation information is disclosed. The method is for use in a computer aided diagnosis system that is designed to bring suspicious or possibly cancerous lesions in fibrous breast tissue to the attention of a radiologist or other medical professional. In a preferred embodiment, spiculation information and mass information are independently calculated, with the computed spiculation information not being dependent on results of the mass information computation, thus leading to greater reliability. Systems according to a preferred embodiment also compute spiculation information either prior to, or concurrently with, the computation of mass information, thus allowing increased overall system speed.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.