A novel image toggle tool for comparison of serial mammograms: automatic density normalization and alignment-development of the tool and initial experience.

Purpose: The purpose is to develop a new image toggle tool with automatic density normalization (ADN) and automatic alignment (AA) for comparing serial digital mammograms (DMGs).Materials and Methods: We developed an ADN and AA process to compare the images of serial DMGs. In image density normaliza...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Japanese Journal of Radiology Vol. 32; no. 12; pp. 725 - 732
Autores principales: Honda, Satoshi, Tsunoda, Hiroko, Fukuda, Wataru, Saida, Yukihisa
Formato: research Journal Article
Publicado: Springer Nature Dec2014
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
Descripción
Sumario:Purpose: The purpose is to develop a new image toggle tool with automatic density normalization (ADN) and automatic alignment (AA) for comparing serial digital mammograms (DMGs).Materials and Methods: We developed an ADN and AA process to compare the images of serial DMGs. In image density normalization, a linear interpolation was applied by taking two points of high- and low-brightness areas. The alignment was calculated by determining the point of the greatest correlation while shifting the alignment between the current and prior images. These processes were performed on a PC with a 3.20-GHz Xeon processor and 8 GB of main memory. We selected 12 suspected breast cancer patients who had undergone screening DMGs in the past. Automatic processing was retrospectively performed on these images. Two radiologists subjectively evaluated them.Results: The process of the developed algorithm took approximately 1 s per image. In our preliminary experience, two images could not be aligned approximately. When they were aligned, image toggling allowed detection of differences between examinations easily.Conclusions: We developed a new tool to facilitate comparative reading of DMGs on a mammography viewing system. Using this tool for toggling comparisons might improve the interpretation efficiency of serial DMGs.