Computer Aided Detection and Recognition of Lesions in Ultrasound Breast Images

The authors extend their previous work on Ultrasound (US) image lesion detection and segmentation, to classification, proposing a complete end-to-end solution for automatic Ultrasound Computer Aided Detection (US CAD). Carried out is a comprehensive analysis to determine the best classifier-feature set combination that works optimally in US imaging. In particular the use of nineteen features categorised into three groups (shape, texture and edge), ten classifiers and 22 feature selection approaches are used in the analysis. From the overall performance, the classifier RBFNetworks defined by the WEKA pattern recognition tool set, with a feature set comprising of the area to perimeter ratio, solidity, elongation, roundness, standard deviation, two Fourier related and a fractal related texture measures out-performed other combinations of feature-classifiers, with an achievement of predicted Az value of 0.948. Next analyzed is the use of a number of different metrics in performance analysis and provide an insight to future improvements and extension.