Comparisons of different contrast resolution effects on a computer-aided detection system intended to cluster microcalcifications detected in dense breast images.

Abstract

Clustered microcalcifications, which are frequently an important signal of possible cancer, are usually hidden in dense breast images, adding more difficulty in mammogram medical analysis. In this work we evaluate the performance of a previously developed computer-aided detection scheme, modified for application to dense breast images. The main focus of this investigation was on the effect of different contrast resolutions on the processing performance. We have processed dense breast images digitized with 8 and 12 bits to evaluate the performance of this computer-aided detection scheme with different contrast resolutions. As expected, for most of the 12-bit images, the number of detected signals was greater or at least equal to that of the 8-bit images.