Chest X-ray analysis for computer-aided diagnostic

Abstract

X-ray is a classical method for diagnosis of some chest diseases. The diseases are curable if they are detected in their early stages. Detection of chest diseases is mostly based on chest X-ray images (CXR). This is a time consuming process. In some cases, medical experts had overlooked the diseases in their first examinations on CXR, and when the images were re-examined, the disease signs could be detected. Furthermore, the number of CXR to examine is numerous and far beyond the capability of available medical staff, especially in developing countries. A computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system can mark prospected areas on CXR for careful examination by medical doctors, and can give alarm in the cases that need urgent attention. This paper reports our continuous work on the development of a CAD system. Some preliminary results for detection of early symptoms of some chest diseases like tuberculosis, cancer, lung collapse, heart failure, etc. are presented. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011.