A review of computer-aided diagnosis of breast cancer: Toward the detection of subtle signs

Radiologists would like the ability to change the contrast of a mammogram, either manually or with pre-selected settings. Computer techniques for detecting, classifying, and annotating diagnostic features on the images would be desirable. This paper presents an overview of digital image processing and pattern analysis techniques to address several areas in CAD of breast cancer, including: contrast enhancement, detection and analysis of calcifications, detection and analysis of masses and tumors, analysis of bilateral asymmetry, and detection of architectural distortion. Although a few commercial CAD systems have been released, the detection of subtle signs of breast cancer such as global bilateral asymmetry and focal architectural distortion remains a difficult problem. We present some of our recent works on the development of image processing and pattern analysis techniques for these applications.