Quantitative study of image features of clustered microcalcifications in for-presentation mammograms
Mammogram images are now increasingly acquired with full-field digital mammography (FFDM) systems in the clinics. Traditionally, the “for-processing” format of FFDM images is used in computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) of breast cancer. In this study, we investigate the feasibility of using “for-presentation” format of FFDM (which are more readily available) in development of CAD algorithms for microcalcification (MC) lesions. We conduct a quantitative evaluation of both the image features and the detectability of individual MCs on a set of 188 mammograms acquired in both formats. The results demonstrate that there is a high degree of agreement in the image features between the two image formats, and that a slight increase in false-positives in MC detection is observed in for-presentation images.