title: Simulation and assessment of realistic breast lesions using fractal growth models.
abstract: A new method of generating realistic three dimensional simulated breast lesions known as diffusion limited aggregation (DLA) is presented, and compared with the random walk (RW) method. Both methods of lesion simulation utilize a physics-based method for inserting these simulated lesions into 2D clinical mammogram images that takes into account the polychromatic x-ray spectrum, local glandularity and scatter. DLA and RW masses were assessed for realism via a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) study with nine observers. The study comprised 150 images of which 50 were real pathology proven mammograms, 50 were normal mammograms with RW inserted masses and 50 were normal mammograms with DLA inserted masses. The average area under the ROC curve for the DLA method was 0.55 (95% confidence interval 0.51-0.59) compared to 0.60 (95% confidence interval 0.56-0.63) for the RW method. The observer study results suggest that the DLA method produced more realistic masses with more variability in shape compared to the RW method. DLA generated lesions can overcome the lack of complexity in structure and shape in many current methods of mass simulation.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Vision, Speech and Signal Processing, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, GU2 7XH, UK. a.rashidnasab@surrey.ac.uk
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rashidnasab
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Elangovan
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yip
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Diaz
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Dance
authors.forename: K C
authors.initials: KC
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wells
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D017709:Fractals; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography; D008954:Models, Biological; D012372:ROC Curve; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement; D015203:Reproducibility of Results