Automatic segmentation of carcinoma in radiographs

Abstract

A strong emphasis has been made on making the healthcare system and the diagnostic procedure more efficient. In this paper, we present an automatic detection technique designed to segment out abnormalities in X-ray imagery. Utilizing the proposed algorithm allows radiologists and their assistants to more effectively sort and analyze large amount of imagery. In radiology, X-ray beams are used to detect various densities within a tissue and to display accompanying anatomical and architectural distortion. Lesion localization within fibrous or dense tissue is complicated by a lack of clear visualization as compared to tissues with an increased fat distribution. As a result, carcinoma and its associated unique patterns can often be overlooked within dense tissue. We introduce a new segmentation technique that integrates prior knowledge, such as intensity level, color distribution, texture, gradient, and shape of the region of interest taken from prior data, within segmentation framework to enhance performance of region and boundary extraction of defected tissue regions in medical imagery. Prior knowledge of the intensity of the region of interest can be extremely helpful in guiding the segmentation process, especially when the carcinoma boundaries are not well defined and when the image contains non-homogeneous intensity variations. We evaluate our algorithm by comparing our detection results to the results of the manually segmented regions of interest. Through metrics, we also illustrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the algorithm in improving the diagnostic efficiency for medical experts.