A method for interpreting pixel grey levels in digital mammography

Abstract

A major problem that researchers face when working with digital medical images is that not all the information about the image is stored with it. Image analysis is used to extract useful information from the images. A clear problem when analyzing digital mammograms is that there is not a direct method to interpret pixel values. In this paper a method is presented that, performs the estimation of the amount of glandular tissue in digital mammograms. This contribution also shows how this knowledge about the pixels allows performing a segmentation of the breast region in its constituent parts; and if present, microcalcifications may be detected. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2006.