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This paper presents a novel methodology to in-vivo estimate the elastic constants of a constitutive model proposed to characterize the mechanical behavior of the breast tissues. An iterative search algorithm based on genetic heuristics was constructed to in-vivo estimate these parameters using only medical images, thus avoiding invasive measurements of the mechanical response of the breast tissues

Due to the limited number of views and limited angular span in digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), the acquisition geometry design is an important factor that affects the image quality. Therefore, intensive studies have been conducted regarding the optimization of the acquisition geometry. However, different reconstruction algorithms were used in most of the reported studies. Because each type of

The exact asymptotic computational complexity for a problem of indexing cells on a uniform grid intersecting with a union of C(1) surfaces has been proven. The computational complexity of the recursive partition indexing algorithm, utilized for simulation of septated tissues, is derived and the algorithm is demonstrated as being asymptotically optimal.

Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) is a promising technique to overcome the tissue superposition limitations found in planar 2D x-ray mammography. However, as most DBT systems do not employ an anti-scatter grid, the levels of scattered radiation recorded within the image receptor are significantly higher than that observed in planar 2D x-ray mammography. Knowledge of this field is necessary as par

Early detection of risk of breast cancer is of upmost importance for effective treatment. In the field of medical image analysis, automatic methods have been developed to discover features of ductal trees that are correlated with radiological findings regarding breast cancer. In this study, a data mining approach is proposed that captures a new set of geometrical properties of ductal trees. The ex

Purpose: Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) is a promising breast cancer screening tool that has already begun making inroads into clinical practice. However, there is ongoing debate over how to quantitatively evaluate and optimize these systems, because different definitions of image quality can lead to different optimal design strategies. Powerful and accurate tools are desired to extend our und

Purpose: The authors present an efficient method for generating anthropomorphic software breast phantoms with high spatial resolution. Employing the same region growing principles as in their previous algorithm for breast anatomy simulation, the present method has been optimized for computational complexity to allow for fast generation of the large number of phantoms required in virtual clinical t

Purpose: Digital anthropomorphic breast phantoms have emerged in the past decade because of recent advances in 3D breast x-ray imaging techniques. Computer phantoms in the literature have incorporated power-law noise to represent glandular tissue and branching structures to represent linear components such as ducts. When power-law noise is added to those phantoms in one piece, the simulated fibrog

Purpose:To correlate the parenchymal texture features at digital breast tomosynthesis(DBT)and digital mammography with breast percent density(PD), an established breast cancer risk factor, in a screening population of women. Materials and Methods: This HIPAA-compliant study was approved by the institutional review board. Bilateral DBT images and digital mammograms from 71 women (mean age, 54 years

Purpose: We present a novel algorithm for computer simulation of breast anatomy for generation of anthropomorphic software breast phantoms. A realistic breast simulation is necessary for preclinical validation of volumetric imaging modalities.Methods: The anthropomorphic software breast phantom simulates the skin, regions of adipose and fibroglandular tissue, and the matrix of Cooper's ligaments a

Purpose: Develop a technique to fabricate a 3D anthropomorphic breast phantom with known ground truth for image quality assessment of 2D and 3D breast x-ray imaging systems. Methods: The phantom design is based on an existing computer model that can generate breast voxel phantoms of varying composition, size, and shape. The physical phantom is produced in two steps. First, the portion of the voxel

Purpose: To evaluate inter- and intrareader agreement in breast percent density (PD) estimation on clinical digital mammograms and central digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) projection images. Materials and Methods: This HIPAA-compliant study had institutional review board approval; all patients provided informed consent. Breast PD estimation was performed on the basis of anonymized digital mammog

We propose a multistep approach for representing and classifying tree-like structures in medical images. Tree-like structures are frequently encountered in biomedical contexts; examples are the bronchial system, the vascular topology, and the breast ductal network. We use tree encoding techniques, such as the depth-first string encoding and the Prüfer encoding, to obtain a symbolic string represen

Rationale and Objectives: Studies have demonstrated a relationship between mammographic parenchymal texture and breast cancer risk. Although promising, texture analysis in mammograms is limited by tissue superposition. Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) is a novel tomographic x-ray breast imaging modality that alleviates the effect of tissue superposition, offering superior parenchymal texture vis

The temporal comparison of mammograms is complex; a wide variety of factors can cause changes in image appearance. Mammogram registration is proposed as a method to reduce the effects of these changes and potentially to emphasize genuine alterations in breast tissue. Evaluation of such registration techniques is difficult since ground truth regarding breast deformations is not available in clinica

A novel method of noise reduction has been tested for mammography using computer-simulated images for which the truth is known exactly. This method is based on comparing two images. The images are compared at different scales, using a cross-correlation function as a measure of similarity to define the image modifications in the wavelet domain. The computer-simulated images were calculated for nois

A Mote Carlo computer model of mammography has been developed to study and optimise the performance of digital mammographic systems. The program uses high-resolution voxel phantoms to model the breast, which simulate the adipose and fibroglandular tissues, Cooper's ligaments, ducts and skin in three dimensions. The model calculates the dose to each tissue, and also the quantities such as energy im

A computer model of X-ray mammography has been developed, which uses quasi-realistic high-resolution voxel phantoms to simulate the breast. The phantoms have 400 μm voxels and simulate the three-dimensional distributions of adipose and fibroglandular tissues, Cooper's ligaments, ducts and skin and allow the estimation of dose to individual tissues. Calculations of the incident air kerma to mean gl

A method is proposed for realistic simulation of the breast ductal network as part of a computer three-dimensional (3-D) breast phantom. The ductal network is simulated using tree models. Synthetic trees are generated based upon a description of ductal branching by ramification matrices (R matrices), whose elements represent the probabilities of branching at various levels of a tree. We simulated

Rationale and Objectives. The poor specificity of galactography, the imaging modality generally indicated in cases of nipple discharge, has led to a large number of biopsies with negative results. A quantitative scheme for classifying galactographic findings might help reduce the number of such biopsies in the future. As a first step toward that goal, the authors have studied one quantitative meth