Quantitative analysis for breast density estimation in low dose chest CT scans
Journal
Journal of Medical Systems
Journal Volume
38
Journal Issue
3
Date Issued
2014
Author(s)
Woo Kyung Moon
Chung-Ming Lo
Jin Mo Goo
Min Sun Bae
Jung Min Chang
Jeon-Hor Chen
Violeta Ivanova
Abstract
A computational method was developed for the measurement of breast density using chest computed tomography (CT) images and the correlation between that and mammographic density. Sixty-nine asymptomatic Asian women (138 breasts) were studied. With the marked lung area and pectoralis muscle line in a template slice, demons algorithm was applied to the consecutive CT slices for automatically generating the defined breast area. The breast area was then analyzed using fuzzy c-mean clustering to separate fibroglandular tissue from fat tissues. The fibroglandular clusters obtained from all CT slices were summed then divided by the summation of the total breast area to calculate the percent density for CT. The results were compared with the density estimated from mammographic images. For CT breast density, the coefficient of variations of intraoperator and interoperator measurement were 3.00 % (0.59 %-8.52 %) and 3.09 % (0.20 %-6.98 %), respectively. Breast density measured from CT (22∈±∈0.6 %) was lower than that of mammography (34∈±∈1.9 %) with Pearson correlation coefficient of r∈=∈0.88. The results suggested that breast density measured from chest CT images correlated well with that from mammography. Reproducible 3D information on breast density can be obtained with the proposed CT-based quantification methods. © 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York.
Subjects
Breast density; CT; Fuzzy c-mean; Image registration; Mammography
Other Subjects
adult; aged; algorithm; article; breast; breast density; computed tomography scanner; computer assisted tomography; density; digital mammography; female; human; image processing; intermethod comparison; major clinical study; mammography system; pectoralis major muscle; quantitative analysis; retrospective study; Asian continental ancestry group; breast tumor; computer assisted tomography; fuzzy logic; mammary gland; mammography; middle aged; procedures; radiography; Adult; Aged; Algorithms; Asian Continental Ancestry Group; Breast Neoplasms; Female; Fuzzy Logic; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Mammary Glands, Human; Mammography; Middle Aged; Tomography, X-Ray Computed
Publisher
Springer New York LLC
Type
journal article