%0 Journal Article
%T Semiautomated Multimodal Breast Image Registration
%A Charlotte Curtis
%A Richard Frayne
%A Elise Fear
%J International Journal of Biomedical Imaging
%D 2012
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2012/890830
%X Consideration of information from multiple modalities has been shown to have increased diagnostic power in breast imaging. As a result, new techniques such as microwave imaging continue to be developed. Interpreting these novel image modalities is a challenge, requiring comparison to established techniques such as the gold standard X-ray mammography. However, due to the highly deformable nature of breast tissues, comparison of 3D and 2D modalities is a challenge. To enable this comparison, a registration technique was developed to map features from 2D mammograms to locations in the 3D image space. This technique was developed and tested using magnetic resonance (MR) images as a reference 3D modality, as MR breast imaging is an established technique in clinical practice. The algorithm was validated using a numerical phantom then successfully tested on twenty-four image pairs. Dice's coefficient was used to measure the external goodness of fit, resulting in an excellent overall average of 0.94. Internal agreement was evaluated by examining internal features in consultation with a radiologist, and subjective assessment concludes that reasonable alignment was achieved. 1. Introduction 2D X-ray mammography is the current gold standard breast cancer screening and diagnostic imaging modality [1]. However, mammography has been shown to have low sensitivity and specificity among premenopausal women and women with dense breasts [2]. Furthermore, mammography provides limited 3D information, as only two images are obtained: one in the cranial-caudal (CC) and one in the medial-lateral oblique (MLO) direction. Finally, the breast is compressed up to 50% of its original diameter, resulting in an image with significant anatomical distortion [3]. To overcome these limitations of mammography, other modalities such as magnetic resonance (MR) and ultrasound imaging are used to assist in the diagnosis of symptomatic and high-risk patients. It has been shown that consideration of information from multiple modalities can provide diagnostic information that might be missed if only a single modality was used [2]. As a result, development of novel imaging modalities is an active area of research, as each new technique has the potential to improve diagnosis and ultimately patient outcome. Tissue sensing adaptive radar (TSAR) is an emerging microwave-based 3D breast imaging modality [4]. Currently, in the early stages of clinical trials, TSAR shows potential as a safe and inexpensive means of obtaining 3D images of the breast. However, as a new type of image, interpretation
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijbi/2012/890830/