Breast Cancer Detection - Isis Project No 1260

Small clumps of calcium salts - microcalcifications - are often the earliest signs of breast cancer, and appear in 25% of mammograms. Oxford inventors have developed a new method to identify more reliably these clusters.

Background

Calcifications appear as bright spots or clusters of spots, and small clustered whorled calcifications are those most likely to indicate malignancy. The existence of microcalcifications in a mammogram is a clear warning of abnormality. Any program to assist a radiologist detect microcalcifications must miss few, if any, clinically important clusters, but equally must not signal too many false positives. With the increasingly vast number of mammograms to be analysed from screening programmes automated computer-aided detection methods are a necessity.

Problem

Although several methods have been proposed for detecting microcalcification clusters they all have limitations including the return of too many false positives.

The Oxford Invention

Mammogram Samples Containing Microcalcification Clusters

Original Standard Mammogram Format		Foveal Image Processing

Using a foveal segmentation method based on differential local contrast in the image the new Oxford method has significantly reduced the risk of both false negatives and false positives.

Commercialisation Opportunity

This work is now the subject of a patent application, and Isis is looking to negotiate with any company interested in commercialising this excellent opportunity in cancer detection.

Keywords

microcalcifications, breast cancer detection, breast cancer mammograms, microcalcification clusters, foreal segmentation, false positives, false negatives, cancer detection, malignancy, screenings

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Request Further Information: Project Number 1260 - Breast Cancer Detection