US6640001B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Method and apparatus for fast detection of lesions
Assignee: Hologic Inc
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Filing: 2001-07-17
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Granted: 2003-10-28
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Expires: 2021-07-17
Abstract
Abstract A method and apparatus for the fast detection of spiculated lesions in a digital mammogram, the method for use in a computer aided diagnosis system for assisting a radiologist in identifying and recognizing the spiculations among a multiplicity of lines corresponding to standard fibrous breast tissue. A line and direction image is created from a digital mammogram, and a region of potential intersection for substantially every pixel in the digital mammogram image is determined. The region of potential intersection for each pixel is a predetermined pattern, such as a high aspect ratio rectangle or trapezoid, positioned around the pixel and rotated in a direction corresponding to direction information for that pixel. The regions of potential intersection are accumulated among the pixels to produce a cumulative array, and information in the cumulative array is processed for identifying spiculations in the digital mammogram.
Inventors
- 👤 Jimmy R. Roehrig
- 👤 Harlan M. Romsdahl
- 👤 Wei Zhang
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 10:34
CPC Classifications
G; G06; G06T; G06T7/00; G06T7/0002; G06T7/0012; G06V; G06V10/00; G06V10/20; G06V10/25; G06V10/36; G06V10/40; G06V10/44; G06V10/457; G06V10/48; A; A61; A61B; A61B6/00; A61B6/50; A61B6/502; G06T2207/00; G06T2207/30; G06T2207/30004; G06T2207/30068; G06V2201/00; G06V2201/03
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 27
Claim 1
Independent Claim
138 words
A method of determining regions of interest in an image that is an array of pixels comprising the steps of: at each pixel in the image, determining if the pixel is a portion of a line and determining the direction of the line, if any; generating a cumulative array of cells that identifies regions of interest in the image by: at each pixel in the image that is a portion of a line, using the line direction information to define a region in the cumulative array along said line, and at each cell in the cumulative array within the region defined with the line direction information, incrementing a numerical value associated with the cell; and identifying regions of interest in the image by identifying those cells in the cumulative array that have numerical values that are local extrema.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
138 words
A method of determining regions of interest in an image that is an array of pixels comprising the steps of: at each pixel in the image, determining if the pixel is a portion of a line and determining the direction of the line, if any; generating a cumulative array of cells that identifies regions of interest in the image by: at each pixel in the image that is a portion of a line, using the line direction information to define a region in the cumulative array along said line, and at each cell in the cumulative array within the region defined with the line direction information, incrementing a numerical value associated with the cell; and identifying regions of interest in the image by identifying those cells in the cumulative array that have numerical values that are local extrema.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the region of interest is identified by a local maximum in the cumulative array.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 1 further comprising the step of thresholding the cumulative array to identify regions of interest near locations where said cumulative array exceeds a threshold value.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
50 words
The method of claim 1 comprising the steps of: computing a gradient surface from said image, each pixel in the gradient surface having a gradient intensity value and a gradient direction value; and determining a region of interest using the gradient intensity value and gradient direction value of the pixels.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 4 wherein the line direction information is the gradient direction value.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method of claim 5 wherein the region in the cumulative array is spaced from a projection of the pixel onto the cumulative array and is aligned with the gradient direction value.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 6 the region extends from a first radial distance to a second radial distance from the projection of the pixel onto the cumulative array.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method of claim 4 wherein, for each region defined in the cumulative array, each cell in the cumulative array within that region is incremented by a numerical value corresponding to the gradient intensity value for the pixel associated with that region.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
140 words
A method of determining regions of interest in an image that is an array of image elements comprising the steps of: at each image element in the image, determining if the image element is a portion of a line and determining the direction of the line, if any; generating a cumulative array of cells that identifies regions of interest in the image by: at each image element in the image that is a portion of a line, using the line direction to define a region in the cumulative array along said line, and at each cell in the cumulative array within the region defined with the line direction, incrementing a numerical value associated with the cell; and identifying regions of interest in the image by identifying those cells in the cumulative array that have numerical values that are local extrema.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
140 words
A method of determining regions of interest in an image that is an array of image elements comprising the steps of: at each image element in the image, determining if the image element is a portion of a line and determining the direction of the line, if any; generating a cumulative array of cells that identifies regions of interest in the image by: at each image element in the image that is a portion of a line, using the line direction to define a region in the cumulative array along said line, and at each cell in the cumulative array within the region defined with the line direction, incrementing a numerical value associated with the cell; and identifying regions of interest in the image by identifying those cells in the cumulative array that have numerical values that are local extrema.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 9 wherein the region of interest is identified by a local maximum in the cumulative array.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
29 words
The method of claim 9 further comprising the step of thresholding the cumulative array to identify regions of interest near locations where said cumulative array exceeds a threshold value.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
52 words
The method of claim 9 comprising the steps of: computing a gradient surface from said image, each image element in the gradient surface having a gradient intensity value and a gradient direction value; and determining a region of interest using the gradient intensity value and gradient direction value of the image elements.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
15 words
The method of claim 12 the line direction is specified by the gradient direction value.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
33 words
The method of claim 13 , wherein the region in the cumulative array is spaced from a projection of the pixel onto the cumulative array and is aligned with the gradient direction value.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
31 words
The method of claim 14 , wherein the region extends from a first radial distance to a second radial distance from the projection of the image element onto the cumulative array.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
44 words
The method of claim 12 , wherein, for each region defined in the cumulative array, each cell in the cumulative array within that region is incremented by a numerical value corresponding to the gradient intensity value for the image element associated with that region.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
135 words
A method of determining regions of interest in an image that is an array of image elements comprising the steps of: at each image element in the image, determining if the image element contains a directional feature and determining directional information representative of the directional feature, if any; generating a cumulative array of cells that identifies regions of interest in the image by: at each image element in the image that contains a directional feature, using the directional information to define a region in the cumulative array, and at each cell in the cumulative array within the region defined with the directional information, incrementing a numerical value associated with the cell; and identifying regions of interest in the image by identifying those cells in the cumulative array that have numerical values that are local extrema.
Claim 20
Independent Claim
135 words
A method of determining regions of interest in an image that is an array of image elements comprising the steps of: at each image element in the image, determining if the image element contains a directional feature and determining directional information representative of the directional feature, if any; generating a cumulative array of cells that identifies regions of interest in the image by: at each image element in the image that contains a directional feature, using the directional information to define a region in the cumulative array, and at each cell in the cumulative array within the region defined with the directional information, incrementing a numerical value associated with the cell; and identifying regions of interest in the image by identifying those cells in the cumulative array that have numerical values that are local extrema.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
20 words
The method of claim 17 wherein the region of interest is identified by a local maximum in the cumulative array.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
28 words
The method of claim 17 comprising the step of thresholding the cumulative array to identify regions of interest near locations where said cumulative array exceeds a threshold value.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
52 words
The method of claim 17 comprising the steps of: computing a gradient surface from said image, each image element in the gradient surface having a gradient intensity value and a gradient direction value; and determining a region of interest using the gradient intensity value and gradient direction value of the image elements.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 20 wherein the directional information is specified by the gradient direction value.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
32 words
The method of claim 21 wherein the region in the cumulative array is spaced from a projection of the pixel onto the cumulative array and is aligned with the gradient direction value.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 22 wherein, the region extends from a first radial distance to a second radial distance from the projection of the image element onto the cumulative array.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
43 words
The method of claim 20 wherein, for each region defined in the cumulative array, each cell in the cumulative array within that region is incremented by a numerical value corresponding to the gradient intensity value for the image element associated with that region.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2006-10-27 | 2007-04-28 | 2007-10-28 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2010-10-27 | 2011-04-28 | 2011-10-28 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2014-10-27 | 2015-04-28 | 2015-10-28 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |