title: Wavelet denoising during optical coherence tomography of the prostate nerves using the complex wavelet transform.
abstract: Preservation of the cavernous nerves during prostate cancer surgery is critical in preserving sexual function after surgery. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) of the prostate nerves has recently been studied for potential use in nerve-sparing prostate surgery. In this study, the discrete wavelet transform and complex dual-tree wavelet transform are implemented for wavelet shrinkage denoising in OCT images of the rat prostate. Applying the complex dual-tree wavelet transform provides improved results for speckle noise reduction in the OCT prostate image. Image quality metrics of the cavernous nerves and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) were improved significantly using this complex wavelet denoising technique.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Optical Science, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, NC 28223, USA.
authors.forename: Shahab
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chitchian
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fiddy
authors.forename: Nathaniel M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Fried
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000818:Animals; D001185:Artificial Intelligence; D007089:Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D015233:Models, Statistical; D011467:Prostate / Q000473:pathology*; D011468:Prostatectomy / Q000009:adverse effects; D051381:Rats; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D041623:Tomography, Optical Coherence / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*