Using Image Similarity and Asymmetry to Detect Breast Cancer

Radiologists can use the differences between the left and right breasts, or asymmetry, in mammograms to help detect certain malignant breast cancers. An image similarity method is introduced to make use of this knowledge base to recognize breast cancer. Image similarity is determined using a contextual and then a spatial comparison. The mammograms are filtered to find the most contextually significant points, and then the resulting point set is analyzed for spatial similarity. We develop the analysis through a combination of modeling and supervised learning of model parameters. This process correctly classifies mammograms 80% of the time and thus asymmetry is a measure that can play an important role in significantly improving computer-aided breast cancer detection systems.