Article

Improving performance of computer-aided detection scheme by combining results from two machine learning classifiers.

Department of Radiology, University of Pittsburgh, 3362 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
Academic radiology (impact factor: 2.09). 03/2009; 16(3):266-74. DOI:10.1016/j.acra.2008.08.012 pp.266-74
Source: PubMed

ABSTRACT Global data-based and local instance-based machine-learning methods and classifiers have been widely used to optimize computer-aided detection and diagnosis (CAD) schemes to classify between true-positive and false-positive detections. In this study, the correlation between these two types of classifiers was investigated using a new independent testing data set, and the potential improvement of a CAD scheme's performance by combining the results of the two classifiers in detecting breast masses was assessed.
The CAD scheme first used image filtering and a multilayer topographic region growth algorithm to detect and segment suspicious mass regions. The scheme then used an image feature-based classifier to classify these regions into true-positive and false-positive regions. Two classifiers were used in this study. One was a global data-based machine-learning classifier, an artificial neural network (ANN), and the other was a local instance-based machine-learning classifier, a k-nearest neighbor (KNN) algorithm. An independent image database including 400 mammographic examinations was used in this study. Of these, 200 were cancer cases and 200 were negative cases. The preoptimized CAD scheme was applied twice to the database using the two different classifiers. The correlation between the two sets of classification results was analyzed. Three sets of CAD performance results using the ANN, KNN, and average detection scores from both classifiers were assessed and compared using the free-response receiver-operating characteristic method.
The results showed that the ANN achieved higher performance than the KNN algorithm, with a normalized area under the performance curve (AUC) of 0.891 versus 0.845. The correlation coefficients between the detection scores generated by the two classifiers were 0.436 and 0.161 for the true-positive and false-positive detections, respectively. The average detection scores of the two classifiers improved CAD performance and reliability by increasing the AUC to 0.912 and reducing the standard error of the estimated AUC by 14.4%. The detection sensitivity was also increased from 75.8% (ANN) and 65.9% (KNN) to 80.3% at a false-positive detection rate of 0.3 per image.
This study demonstrates that two global data-based and local data-based machine-learning classifiers (ANN and KNN) generated low correlated detection results and that combining the detection scores of these two classifiers significantly improved overall CAD performance (P < .01) and reduced standard error in CAD performance assessment.

0 0
 · 
1 Bookmark
 · 
30 Views
  • Article: Interactive computer-aided diagnosis of breast masses: computerized selection of visually similar image sets from a reference library.
    Bin Zheng, Claudia Mello-Thoms, Xiao-Hui Wang, Gordon S Abrams, Jules H Sumkin, Denise M Chough, Marie A Ganott, Amy Lu, David Gur
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: The clinical utility of interactive computer-aided diagnosis (ICAD) systems depends on clinical relevance and visual similarity between the queried breast lesions and the ICAD-selected reference regions. The objective of this study is to develop and test a new ICAD scheme that aims improve visual similarity of ICAD-selected reference regions. A large and diverse reference library involving 3,000 regions of interests was established. For each queried breast mass lesion by the observer, the ICAD scheme segments the lesion, classifies its boundary spiculation level, and computes 14 image features representing the segmented lesion and its surrounding tissue background. A conditioned k-nearest neighbor algorithm is applied to select a set of the 25 most "similar" lesions from the reference library. After computing the mutual information between the queried lesion and each of these initially selected 25 lesions, the scheme displays the six reference lesions with the highest mutual information scores. To evaluate the automated selection process of the six "visually similar" lesions to the queried lesion, we conducted a two-alternative forced-choice observer preference study using 85 queried mass lesions. Two sets of reference lesions selected by one new automated ICAD scheme and the other previously reported scheme using a subjective rating method were randomly displayed on the left and right side of the queried lesion. Nine observers were asked to decide for each of the 85 queried lesions which one of the two reference sets was "more visually similar" to the queried lesion. In classification of mass boundary spiculation levels, the overall agreement rate between the automated scheme and an observer is 58.8% (Kappa = 0.31). In observer preference study, the nine observers preferred on average the reference lesion sets selected by the automated scheme as being more visually similar than the set selected by the subjective rating approach in 53.2% of the queried lesions. The results were not significantly different for the two methods (P = .128). This study suggests that using the new automated ICAD scheme, the interobserver variability related issues can thus be avoided. Furthermore, the new scheme maintains the similar performance level as the previous scheme using the subjective rating method that can select reference sets that are significantly more visually similar (P < .05) than when using traditional ICAD schemes in which the mass boundary spiculation levels are not accurately detected and quantified.
    Academic Radiology 08/2007; 14(8):917-27. · 1.69 Impact Factor
  • Source
    Article: Computerized detection of masses in digitized mammograms using single-image segmentation and a multilayer topographic feature analysis.
    B Zheng, Y H Chang, D Gur
    [show abstract] [hide abstract]
    ABSTRACT: We developed and evaluated a computer-aided detection (CAD) scheme for masses in digitized mammograms. A multistep CAD scheme was developed and tested. The method uses a technique of single-image segmentation with Gaussian bandpass filtering to yield a high sensitivity for mass detection. A rule-based multilayer topographic feature analysis method is then used to classify suspected regions. A set of 260 cases, including 162 verified masses, was divided into two subsets; one set was used to set the rule-based classification and one was used to test the performance of the scheme. In a preliminary clinical study, the implemented detection scheme yielded 98% sensitivity with a false-positive detection rate of less than one false-positive region per image. Single-image segmentation methods seem to have high sensitivity in selecting true-positive mass regions in the first stage of a CAD scheme. A multilayer topographic image feature analysis method in the second stage of a CAD scheme has the potential to significantly reduce the false-positive detection rate.
    Academic Radiology 12/1995; 2(11):959-66. · 1.69 Impact Factor
Data provided are for informational purposes only. Although carefully collected, accuracy cannot be guaranteed. The impact factor represents a rough estimation of the journal's impact factor and does not reflect the actual current impact factor. Publisher conditions are provided by RoMEO. Differing provisions from the publisher's actual policy or licence agreement may be applicable.

Keywords

CAD performance
 
CAD performance assessment
 
CAD scheme first
 
CAD scheme's performance
 
detecting breast masses
 
estimated AUC
 
free-response receiver-operating characteristic method
 
Global data-based
 
global data-based machine-learning classifier
 
higher performance
 
image feature-based classifier
 
k-nearest neighbor
 
local data-based machine-learning classifiers
 
local instance-based machine-learning classifier
 
normalized area
 
preoptimized CAD scheme
 
two classifiers
 
two different classifiers
 
two global data-based
 
two types