Automatic detection of nodules attached to vessels in lung CT by volume projection analysis

Abstract

Automatic detection of abnormalities or lesions that are attached to other anatomies in medical image analysis is always a very challenge problem, especially when the lesions are small. In this paper a novel method for the automatic detection of lung cancers or nodules attached to vessels in high-resolution multi-slice CT images is presented. We propose to use volume projection analysis to mimic physicians’ practices in making diagnosis. The volume projection analysis is performed on 1-dimensional curves obtained from the 3-dimensional volume. A multiscale detection framework is proposed to detect nodules of various sizes. A set of features for characterizing nodules is defined. Results of experimental evaluation of the method are presented.