Patent ID: 6125194
Filing Date: 2000-09-26
Classification: G06K,G06T,G16H

Abstract:
A system for re-screening an abnormality such as a nodule in a radiological image, the system receiving radiological images identified as negative by previous radiological diagnostic techniques, the system comprising a detection unit comprising:an image enhancement unit that uses a multi-resolution matched filtering approach to enhance contrast between any abnormalities that may be present and the image background;a quick selection unit that preliminarily selects a suspect abnormality and uses a pixel thresholding method; anda classification unit that determines a presence and a location of the abnormality and a classification score, and which identifies a false abnormality; anda decision making unit that selects a portion of images for further diagnostic review;wherein, if a radiological image analyzed by said detection unit is determined to be positive, further radiological diagnosis is performed on it to confirm the existence of a true nodule, and if a radiological image analyzed by said detection unit is determined to be negative, no further radiological diagnosis is performed on it.