Identification of Isolated Clustered Microcalcifications Based on the Distribution of Effective Atomic Number

The goal of this work was to improve the efficiency of early detection of isolated clustered microcalcifications, the earliest indicators of breast cancer. The presence of isolated clustered microcalcifications in the mammary gland significantly increases the range of variation of effective atomic number and significantly changes the form of its distribution. Isolated microcalcifications may not be visible at traditional mammograms. However, the fact of its presence in the mammary gland can be set analytically by the form of the distribution of the effective atomic number. The distribution of the effective atomic number in the tissue without microcalcifications is symmetrical and close to the normal law. But the breast with isolated clustered microcalcifications is characterized by asymmetry and high values of the maximum effective atomic number.The coordinates of the location of isolated microcalcifications can be calculated mathematically. The histograms of maximum value of the reconstructed atomic numbers for 102 fragments of breast tissue without microcalcifications (301x301 pixels) (a) and for 48 fragments of breast tissue with microcalcifications were obtained. It is shown that the distributions of the reconstructed atomic numbers do not overlap. it proves that the type I errors (false positives , false conclusion about the presence of microcalcifications) is practically equal to zero. However, the type II errors, ( false negatives, skip microcalcifications) is related to its size granules, the number fragment pixel, the thickness of the breast and its assessment requires further research.