System and method for filtering and automatic detection of candidate anatomical structures in medical images
First Claim
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1. A method for detecting an anatomical abnormality within a three-dimensional digital image, the method comprising:
- computing a first gradient vector field of the digital image in x, y, and z directions;
computing a plurality of second gradient vector fields for each of a plurality of predetermined masks of different sizes;
convoluting the first gradient vector field and the plurality of second gradient vector fields to generate a corresponding set of response images;
integrating the set of response images to generate a single response volume; and
detecting the anatomical abnormality based on the single response volume, wherein each of the plurality of predetermined masks of different sizes is selected according to a shape of the anatomical abnormality being detected.
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Abstract
A system and method for determining the presence or absence of candidate objects in a digital image by computing a gradient field of the digital image and then applying predetermined filters to the gradient field to obtain a response image which can be further processed to detect the objects. The application of these filters to the digital image can be performed by convolution and the filters can be adapted based on the shape of the object to be searched.
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Citations
16 Claims
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1. A method for detecting an anatomical abnormality within a three-dimensional digital image, the method comprising:
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computing a first gradient vector field of the digital image in x, y, and z directions; computing a plurality of second gradient vector fields for each of a plurality of predetermined masks of different sizes; convoluting the first gradient vector field and the plurality of second gradient vector fields to generate a corresponding set of response images; integrating the set of response images to generate a single response volume; and detecting the anatomical abnormality based on the single response volume, wherein each of the plurality of predetermined masks of different sizes is selected according to a shape of the anatomical abnormality being detected. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A computer system comprising:
a processor; and
a program storage device readable by the computer system, embodying a program of instructions executable by the processor to perform method steps for detecting an anatomical abnormality within a three-dimensional digital image, the method comprising;computing a first gradient vector field of the digital image in x, y, and z directions; computing a plurality of second gradient vector fields for each of a plurality of predetermined masks of different sizes; convoluting the first gradient vector field and the plurality of second gradient vector fields to generate a corresponding set of response images; integrating the set of response images to generate a single response volume; and detecting the anatomical abnormality based on the single response volume, wherein each of the plurality of predetermined masks of different sizes is selected according to a shape of the anatomical abnormality being detected. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16)
Specification