Breast Density Analysis with Automated Whole-Breast Ultrasound: Comparison with 3-D Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Journal
Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology
Journal Volume
42
Journal Issue
5
Pages
1211--1220
Date Issued
2016-05
Author(s)
Abstract
In this study, a semi-automatic breast segmentation method was proposed on the basis of the rib shadow to extract breast regions from 3-D automated whole-breast ultrasound (ABUS) images. The density results were correlated with breast density values acquired with 3-D magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MRI images of 46 breasts were collected from 23 women without a history of breast disease. Each subject also underwent ABUS. We used Otsu's thresholding method on ABUS images to obtain local rib shadow information, which was combined with the global rib shadow information (extracted from all slice projections) and integrated with the anatomy's breast tissue structure to determine the chest wall line. The fuzzy C-means classifier was used to extract the fibroglandular tissues from the acquired images. Whole-breast volume (WBV) and breast percentage density (BPD) were calculated in both modalities. Linear regression was used to compute the correlation of density results between the two modalities. The consistency of density measurement was also analyzed on the basis of intra- and inter-operator variation. There was a high correlation of density results between MRI and ABUS (R2 = 0.798 for WBV, R2 = 0.825 for PBD). The mean WBV from ABUS images was slightly smaller than the mean WBV from MR images (MRI: 342.24 ± 128.08 cm3, ABUS: 325.47 ± 136.16 cm3, p < 0.05). In addition, the BPD calculated from MR images was smaller than the BPD from ABUS images (MRI: 24.71 ± 15.16%, ABUS: 28.90 ± 17.73%, p < 0.05). The intra-operator and inter-operator variant analysis results indicated that there was no statistically significant difference in breast density measurement variation between the two modalities. Our results revealed a high correlation in WBV and BPD between MRI and ABUS. Our study suggests that ABUS provides breast density information useful in the assessment of breast health. © 2016 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology.
Subjects
Automated whole-breast ultrasound; Chest wall segmentation; Fuzzy C-means; Percentage breast density; Rib shadow
SDGs
Other Subjects
Automation; Density measurement (specific gravity); Fuzzy systems; Image processing; Image segmentation; Magnetic resonance imaging; Tissue; Ultrasonics; Breast density; Breast ultrasound; Chest wall; Fuzzy C mean; Rib shadow; Medical imaging; adult; anisotropy; Article; breast density; controlled study; echomammography; female; fuzzy system; human; image analysis; image quality; intermethod comparison; nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; pectoral muscle; priority journal; rib; thorax wall; three dimensional imaging; algorithm; automated pattern recognition; breast; breast density; comparative study; computer assisted diagnosis; densitometry; diagnostic imaging; echomammography; evaluation study; fuzzy logic; image enhancement; machine learning; nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; physiology; procedures; reproducibility; sensitivity and specificity; three dimensional imaging; Algorithms; Breast; Breast Density; Densitometry; Female; Fuzzy Logic; Humans; Image Enhancement; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; Imaging, Three-Dimensional; Machine Learning; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Pattern Recognition, Automated; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Ultrasonography, Mammary
Type
journal article