Non-rigid registration of mammograms obtained with variable breast compression: A phantom study

Abstract

The amount of breast compression applied during a mammographic exam affects the appearance of mammograms by introducing variations in the shape, position, and contrast of breast anatomical structures, which can conceal existing breast abnormalities or generate false alarms. Due to the complex tissue organization and elastic properties of the breast and the projective nature of mammography, rigid registration approaches are not useful in correcting these variations. We describe a non-rigid approach focused on registration of mammogram regions of interest, taking into account the changes in image contrast. This registration algorithm has been applied to synthetic mammograms generated using a deformable 3D anthropomorphic phantom and a model of breast deformation during mammographic compression. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2003.