Image analysis
First Claim
1. A method for the automated analysis of a digital image having an array of pixels including using a computer or processor to perform the successive steps comprising:
- (a) identifying locations of objects within the image which have specified intensity and size characteristics;
(b) deriving respective boundaries for respective such objects;
(c) assessing the significance of objects based on statistics concerning at least the shapes of their respective derived boundaries; and
(d) calculating a measure of the variability among a group of such objects within the image of at least the areas enclosed by their respective derived boundaries subject to the results of said assessment of significance;
wherein step (c) comprises assigning probabilities that respective objects are members of a specified class based on specified said statistics and said measure in step (d) is the standard deviation of the areas enclosed by said derived boundaries weighted in accordance with the respective probabilities.
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Abstract
A method for the automated analysis of digital images, particularly for the purpose of assessing nuclear pleomorphism from images of histological slides for prognostication of breast cancer. The method includes the steps of identifying the locations of objects within the image which have intensity and size characteristics consistent with epithelial cell nuclei and deriving boundaries for those objects. Statistics concerning at least the shapes of the derived boundaries are calculated and clutter is rejected on the basis of those statistics and/or they are used to assign probabilities that the respective objects are epithelial cell nuclei, and a measure of the variability of at least the areas enclosed by such boundaries is then calculated.
37 Citations
41 Claims
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1. A method for the automated analysis of a digital image having an array of pixels including using a computer or processor to perform the successive steps comprising:
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(a) identifying locations of objects within the image which have specified intensity and size characteristics; (b) deriving respective boundaries for respective such objects; (c) assessing the significance of objects based on statistics concerning at least the shapes of their respective derived boundaries; and (d) calculating a measure of the variability among a group of such objects within the image of at least the areas enclosed by their respective derived boundaries subject to the results of said assessment of significance; wherein step (c) comprises assigning probabilities that respective objects are members of a specified class based on specified said statistics and said measure in step (d) is the standard deviation of the areas enclosed by said derived boundaries weighted in accordance with the respective probabilities. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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9. A method for the automated analysis of a digital image having an array of pixels including using a computer or processor to perform the successive steps comprising:
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(a) identifying locations of objects within the image which have specified intensity and size characteristics; (b) deriving respective boundaries for respective such objects; (c) assessing the significance of objects based on statistics concerning at least the shapes of their respective derived boundaries; and (d) calculating a measure of the variability among a group of such objects within the image of at least the areas enclosed by their respective derived boundaries subject to the results of said assessment of significance; wherein step (b) comprises; defining regions of specified extent within the image which contain respective said objects; and deriving from the data within respective said regions a respective closed contour (if any) consisting of points of the same specified intensity and wherein step (a) comprises the application of a radially-symmetric difference filter with zero mean and, for respective said regions, the respective said contour is derived from the output of said radially-symmetric difference filter with zero mean for the respective region. - View Dependent Claims (10)
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15. A method for the automated analysis of a digital image having an array of pixels including using a computer or processor to perform the successive steps comprising:
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(a) identifying locations of objects within the image which have specified intensity and size characteristics; (b) deriving respective boundaries for respective such objects; (c) assessing the significance of objects based on statistics concerning at least the shapes of their respective derived boundaries; and (d) calculating a measure of the variability among a group of such objects within the image of at least the areas enclosed by their respective derived boundaries subject to the results of said assessment of significance; and further comprising, following step (a); defining masks of specified extent within the image around the identified said locations; calculating for respective said masks at least one intensity threshold from the pixels within the respective mask; and thresholding the pixels within respective masks using the respective threshold(s) calculated therefor; whereby to derive a set of binary images corresponding to said masks and containing a set of regions representing connected pixels of a specified class of intensity in relation to the applied thresholding. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A method for the automated analysis of a digital image having an array of pixels including using a computer or processor to perform the successive steps comprising:
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(a) identifying locations of objects within the image which have specified intensity and size characteristics; (b) deriving respective boundaries for respective such objects; (c) assessing the significance of objects based on statistics concerning at least the shapes of their respective derived boundaries; and (d) calculating a measure of the variability among a group of such objects within the image of at least the areas enclosed by their respective derived boundaries subject to the results of said assessment of significance; wherein step (b) comprises, for respective objects; establishing a closed curve of specified form around the respective location; deforming the curve outwardly in accordance with intensity characteristics of the image in the direction normal to the curve at a plurality of points around the curve; repeating the aforesaid deformation until the area enclosed by the curve exceeds a specified threshold; and selecting, from the resultant set of deformed curves, one which best meets specified characteristics of intensity gradient across the curve. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35)
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36. A method for the automated analysis of a digital image having an array of pixels including using a computer or processor to perform the successive steps comprising:
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(a) identifying locations of objects within the image which have specified intensity and size characteristics; (b) deriving respective boundaries for respective such objects; (c) assessing the significance of objects based on statistics concerning at least the shapes of their respective derived boundaries; and (d) calculating a measure of the variability among a group of such objects within the image of at least the areas enclosed by their respective derived boundaries subject to the results of said assessment of significance; wherein step (c) comprises assigning probabilities that respective objects are members of a specified class based on statistics comprising;
the area enclosed by the derived boundary;
the perimeter of the derived boundary squared divided by the area enclosed by the derived boundary; and
the minimum curvature of the derived boundary. - View Dependent Claims (37)
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38. A method for the automated analysis of a digital image having an array of pixels including using a computer or processor to perform the successive steps comprising:
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(a) identifying locations of objects within the image which have specified intensity and size characteristics; (b) deriving respective boundaries for respective such objects; (c) assessing the significance of objects based on statistics concerning at least the shapes of their respective derived boundaries; and (d) calculating a measure of the variability among a group of such objects within the image of at least the areas enclosed by their respective derived boundaries subject to the results of said assessment of significance; wherein step (c) comprises assigning probabilities that respective objects are members of a specified class based on statistics comprising;
the area enclosed by the derived boundary;
the perimeter of the derived boundary squared divided by the area enclosed by the derived boundary;
the maximum intensity of the original image pixels within the derived boundary; and
the minimum intensity of the original image pixels within the derived boundary. - View Dependent Claims (39)
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40. A method for the automated analysis of a digital image having an array of pixels including using a computer or processor to perform the successive steps comprising:
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(a) identifying locations of objects within the image which have specified intensity and size characteristics; (b) deriving respective boundaries for respective such objects; (c) assessing the significance of objects based on statistics concerning at least the shapes of their respective derived boundaries; and (d) calculating a measure of the variability among a group of such objects within the image of at least the areas enclosed by their respective derived boundaries subject to the results of said assessment of significance; wherein step (c) comprises assigning probabilities that respective objects are members of a specified class based on specified said statistics, the image is of a section of breast tissue and said specified class is identified as the class of epithelial cell nuclei. - View Dependent Claims (41)
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Specification