Reduction of false positives in computerized detection of lung nodules in chest radiographs using artificial neural networks, discriminant analysis, and a rule-based scheme.
A computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) scheme is being developed to identify image regions considered suspicious for lung nodules in chest radiographs to assist radiologists in making correct diagnoses. Automated classifiers--an artificial neural network, discriminant analysis, and a rule-based scheme--are used to reduce the number of false-positive detections of the CAD scheme. The CAD scheme first detects nodule candidates from chest radiographs based on a difference image technique. Nine image features characterizing nodules are extracted automatically for each of the nodule candidates. The extracted image features are then used as input data to the classifiers for distinguishing actual nodules from the false-positive detections. The performances of the classifiers are evaluated by receiver-operating characteristic analysis. On the basis of the database of 30 normal and 30 abnormal chest images, the neural network achieves an AZ value (area under the receiver-operating-characteristic curve) of 0.79 in detecting lung nodules, as tested by the round-robin method. The neural network, after being trained with a training database, is able to eliminate more than 83% of the false-positive detections reported by the CAD scheme. Moreover, the combination of the trained neural network and a rule-based scheme eliminates 96% of the false-positive detections of the CAD scheme.
Kurt Rossmann Laboratories for Radiologic Image Research, Department of Radiology, University of Chicago, IL.
Y C
YC
Wu
K
K
Doi
M L
ML
Giger
C E
CE
Metz
W
W
Zhang
D003936:Diagnosis, Computer-Assisted; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D005189:False Positive Reactions; D006801:Humans; D016571:Neural Networks, Computer; D012372:ROC Curve; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement; D011857:Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic / Q000379:methods*; D003074:Solitary Pulmonary Nodule / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology