title: Unsupervised segmentation of lung fields in chest radiographs using multiresolution fractal feature vector and deformable models.
abstract: Segmenting lung fields in a chest radiograph is essential for automatically analyzing an image. We present an unsupervised method based on multiresolution fractal feature vector. The feature vector characterizes the lung field region effectively. A fuzzy c-means clustering algorithm is then applied to obtain a satisfactory initial contour. The final contour is obtained by deformable models. The results show the feasibility and high performance of the proposed method. Furthermore, based on the segmentation of lung fields, the cardiothoracic ratio (CTR) can be measured. The CTR is a simple index for evaluating cardiac hypertrophy. After identifying a suspicious symptom based on the estimated CTR, a physician can suggest that the patient undergoes additional extensive tests before a treatment plan is finalized.
authors.affiliation: Department of Healthcare Information and Management, Ming Chuan University, Taoyuan, 333, Taiwan, ROC. wllee2002@msn.com.
authors.forename: Wen-Li
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Healthcare Information and Management, Ming Chuan University, Taoyuan, 333, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Koyin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, 813, Taiwan, ROC.
authors.forename: Kai-Sheng
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Hsieh
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D006332:Cardiomegaly / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D017709:Fractals; D017143:Fuzzy Logic; D006801:Humans; D008168:Lung / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D010363:Pattern Recognition, Automated / Q000379:methods; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D011857:Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted / Q000379:methods*; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic / Q000379:methods*; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
keywords: Cardiothoracic ratio; Chest radiographs; Deformable models; Fractal geometry; Gabor wavelet transform; Lung segmentation; Texture analysis