Why should breast tumour detection go three dimensional?
Although x-ray mammography is widely developed for breast tumour detection, it suffers from spatial superposition in its two-dimensional (2D) representation of a three-dimensional (3D) breast structure. Accordingly, 3D breast imaging, such as cone-beam computed tomography (CT), arises at the historic moment. In this paper, we theoretically elucidate the spatial superposition effect associated with x-ray mammography on breast tumour detection. This explanation is based on the line integral of x-ray traversing a composite breast model. As a result, we can characterize the difficulty of detecting small tumours in terms of local intensity contrast in x-ray images. In comparison, we also introduce cone-beam CT breast imaging for 3D breast volume representation, which offers advantages for breast mass segmentation and measurement. The discussion is demonstrated with an experiment with a breast surgical specimen. In conclusion, we strongly believe that 3D volumetric representation allows for more accurate breast tumour detection.
Chen
Zikuan
Z
Department of Radiology, University of Rochester, Box 648, 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, NY 14642, USA.
Ning
Ruola
R
D000465:Algorithms; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods*; D008327:Mammography / Q000379:methods*; D008954:Models, Biological; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods*; D011857:Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D011874:Radiometry / Q000379:methods*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity