Developing of Digital Stereoscopic Imaging Technique in Mammography

摘要

The goal of this research is to develop stereoscopic techniques for mammographic imaging and to investigate the feasibility of using stereomammography to improve the sensitivity of mammography for breast cancer detection, especially in dense breasts. During this year, we have investigated the possible configurations of a stereoscopic viewing station. A prototype viewing station has been built using a PC computer with a special video processor which is interfaced to high-refresh-rate monitor and a stereo viewing goggle using liquid crystal display shutters. Although the display resolution of this prototype system is limited to a 1024 x 768 matrix of an 8-bit image, it allows us to investigate the visibility of image details of biopsied lesions and depth perception with stereoscopic imaging. We have introduced a 3-D virtual cursor into stereomammography and conducted phantom experiments to evaluate absolute depth measurement with the aid of the 3-D stereo cursor. We found that stereomammography not only improves visualization of image details, it may also be useful for absolute measurement of lesion size and depth in the breast. This may facilitate diagnostic evaluation of breast lesions.