BREAST HEALTH
Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2015;16(18):8619-23.
Assessing the Potential of Thermal Imaging in Recognition of Breast Cancer.
Zadeh HG1, Haddadnia J, Ahmadinejad N, Baghdadi MR.
Author information
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Breast cancer is a common disorder in women, constituting one of the main causes of death all over the world. The purpose of this study was to determine the diagnostic value of the breast tissue diseases by the help of thermography.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
In this paper, we applied non-contact infrared camera, INFREC R500 for evaluating the capabilities ofthermography. The study was conducted on 60 patients suspected of breast disease, who were referred to Imam Khomeini Imaging Center. Information obtained from the questionnaires and clinical examinations along with the obtained diagnostic results from ultrasound images, biopsies and thermography, were analyzed. The results indicated that the use of thermography as well as the asymmetry technique is useful in identifying hypoechoic as well as cystic masses. It should be noted that the patient should not suffer from breast discharge.
RESULTS:
The accuracy of asymmetry technique identification is respectively 91/89% and 92/30%. Also the accuracy of the exact location of identification is on the 61/53% and 75%. The approach also proved effective in identifying heterogeneous lesions, fibroadenomas, and intraductal masses, but not ISO-echoes and calcified masses.
CONCLUSIONS:
According to the results of the investigation, thermography may be useful in the initial screening and supplementation of diagnostic procedures due to its safety (its non-radiation properties), low cost and the good recognition of breast tissue disease.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26745126
Cell Biochem Biophys. 2015 Jan;71(1):491-8. doi: 10.1007/s12013-014-0229-5.
A simple and efficient method for breast cancer diagnosis based on infrared thermal imaging.
Han F1, Shi G, Liang C, Wang L, Li K.
Abstract
This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of quantitative diagnosis through thermal analysis of abnormal metabolism. In this paper, an analytical-based steady-state solution for the thermal inverse problem was developed, considering an equivalent point heat source embedded in the tissue. Based on this solution, we developed a simple and efficient algorithm that generates solutions for the nonlinear heat conduction model. Using the nonlinear fitting analysis, a regular distribution can be derived from the raw thermal patterns of the skin surface above the tumor, and the power and depth of the equivalent heat source can be derived to investigate whether the tumor is malignant or benign. The thermal power Q of internal heat source was estimated to predict the satisfactory approaches to distinguish between benign and malignant tumors. The results of four clinical cases (female patients with malignant tumor and benign tumor) show that the estimated values of the power of the heat sources in malignant cases (fatty: Q = 0.34851 W; dense: Q = 0.46933 W) are both far greater than the ones in benign (fatty: Q = 0.04721 W; dense: Q = 0.07717 W), irregardless of the breast density. The correlation coefficients (R (2)) of the nonlinear curve fittings are all above 0.98. The new thermal method proposed in this study would help to improve the preciseness of diagnosis on breast masses (malignant or benign).
Asian Pac J Cancer Prev. 2015;16(18):8619-23.
Assessing the Potential of Thermal Imaging in Recognition of Breast Cancer.
Zadeh HG1, Haddadnia J, Ahmadinejad N, Baghdadi MR.
Author information
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Breast cancer is a common disorder in women, constituting one of the main causes of death all over the world. The purpose of this study was to determine the diagnostic value of the breast tissue diseases by the help of thermography.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
In this paper, we applied non-contact infrared camera, INFREC R500 for evaluating the capabilities ofthermography. The study was conducted on 60 patients suspected of breast disease, who were referred to Imam Khomeini Imaging Center. Information obtained from the questionnaires and clinical examinations along with the obtained diagnostic results from ultrasound images, biopsies and thermography, were analyzed. The results indicated that the use of thermography as well as the asymmetry technique is useful in identifying hypoechoic as well as cystic masses. It should be noted that the patient should not suffer from breast discharge.
RESULTS:
The accuracy of asymmetry technique identification is respectively 91/89% and 92/30%. Also the accuracy of the exact location of identification is on the 61/53% and 75%. The approach also proved effective in identifying heterogeneous lesions, fibroadenomas, and intraductal masses, but not ISO-echoes and calcified masses.
CONCLUSIONS:
According to the results of the investigation, thermography may be useful in the initial screening and supplementation of diagnostic procedures due to its safety (its non-radiation properties), low cost and the good recognition of breast tissue disease.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26745126
Comput Methods Programs Biomed. 2016 Jan;123:68-80. doi: 10.1016/j.cmpb.2015.09.014. Epub 2015 Sep 25.
Potentialities of steady-state and transient thermography in breast tumor depth detection: A numerical study.
Amri A1, Pulko SH2, Wilkinson AJ3.
Author information
Abstract
Breast thermography still has inherent limitations that prevent it from being fully accepted as a breast screening modality in medicine. The main challenges of breast thermography are to reduce false positive results and to increase the sensitivity of a thermogram. Further, it is still difficult to obtain information about tumour parameters such as metabolic heat, tumour depth and diameter from a thermogram. However,infrared technology and image processing have advanced significantly and recent clinical studies have shown increased sensitivity ofthermography in cancer diagnosis. The aim of this paper is to study numerically the possibilities of extracting information about the tumour depth from steady state thermography and transient thermography after cold stress with no need to use any specific inversion technique. Both methods are based on the numerical solution of Pennes bioheat equation for a simple three-dimensional breast model. The effectiveness of two approaches used for depth detection from steady state thermography is assessed. The effect of breast density on the steady state thermal contrast has also been studied. The use of a cold stress test and the recording of transient contrasts during rewarming were found to be potentially suitable for tumour depth detection during the rewarming process. Sensitivity to parameters such as cold stress temperature and cooling time is investigated using the numerical model and simulation results reveal two prominent depth-related characteristic times which do not strongly depend on the temperature of the cold stress or on the cooling period.
Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
KEYWORDS:
Cold stress; Depth detection; Full width at half maximum (FWHM); Steady state thermal contrast; Transient thermal contrast
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26522612
Technol Health Care. 2015;23(4):429-42. doi: 10.3233/THC-150915.
An approach to analyze the breast tissues in infrared images using nonlinear adaptive level sets and Riesz transform features.
Prabha S1, Suganthi SS2, Sujatha CM1.
Author information
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Breast thermography is a potential imaging method for the early detection of breast cancer. The pathological conditions can be determined by measuring temperature variations in the abnormal breast regions. Accurate delineation of breast tissues is reported as a challenging task due to inherent limitations of infrared images such as low contrast, low signal to noise ratio and absence of clear edges.
OBJECTIVE:
Segmentation technique is attempted to delineate the breast tissues by detecting proper lower breast boundaries and inframammary folds. Characteristic features are extracted to analyze the asymmetrical thermal variations in normal and abnormal breast tissues.
METHODS:
An automated analysis of thermal variations of breast tissues is attempted using nonlinear adaptive level sets and Riesz transform. Breast thermal images are initially subjected to Stein’s unbiased risk estimate based orthonormal wavelet denoising. These denoised images are enhanced using contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalization method. The breast tissues are then segmented using non-linear adaptive level set method. The phase map of enhanced image is integrated into the level set framework for final boundary estimation. The segmented results are validated against the corresponding ground truth images using overlap and regional similarity metrics. The segmented images are further processed with Riesz transform and structural texture features are derived from the transformed coefficients to analyze pathological conditions of breast tissues.
RESULTS:
Results show that the estimated average signal to noise ratio of denoised images and average sharpness of enhanced images are improved by 38% and 6% respectively. The interscale consideration adopted in the denoising algorithm is able to improve signal to noise ratio by preserving edges. The proposed segmentation framework could delineate the breast tissues with high degree of correlation (97%) between the segmented and ground truth areas. Also, the average segmentation accuracy and sensitivity are found to be 98%. Similarly, the maximum regional overlap between segmented and ground truth images obtained using volume similarity measure is observed to be 99%. Directionality as a feature, showed a considerable difference between normal and abnormal tissues which is found to be 11%.
CONCLUSION:
The proposed framework for breast thermal image analysis that is aided with necessary preprocessing is found to be useful in assisting the early diagnosis of breast abnormalities.
KEYWORDS:
Breast thermography; Riesz transform; denoising; level sets; segmentation
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26409908
Stud Health Technol Inform. 2015;216:746-50.
Thermal Signal Analysis for Breast Cancer Risk Verification.
Silva LF1, Sequeiros GO1, Santos ML2, Fontes CA2, Muchaluat-Saade DC1, Conci A1.
Abstract
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in the world. Currently, there are no effective methods to prevent this disease. However, early diagnosis increases chances of remission. Breast thermography is an option to be considered in screening strategies. This paper proposes a new dynamic breast thermography analysis technique in order to identify patients at risk for breast cancer. Thermal signals from patients of the Antonio Pedro University Hospital (HUAP), available at the Mastology Database for Research with Infrared Image – DMR-IR were used to validate the study. First, each patient’s images are registered. Then, the breast region is divided into subregions of 3×3 pixels and the average temperature from each of these regions is observed in all images of the same patient. Features of the thermal signals of such subregions are calculated. Then, the k-means algorithm is applied over feature vectors building two clusters. Silhouette index, Davies-Bouldin index and Calinski-Harabasz index are applied to evaluate the clustering. The test results showed that the methodology presented in this paper is able to identify patients with breast cancer. Classification techniques have been applied on the index values and 90.90% hit rate has been achieved.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26262151
Individual and combined effectiveness of palpation, thermography, and mammography in breast cancer screening ☆
Abstract
Detection data generated at a national Breast Cancer Detection Demonstration Project over a 4-year period are discussed. Interpretation of these data indicates that mammography with a true positive rate of 74% is the most sensitive individual detection modality for asymptomatic women. However, multimodality screening protocols can increase sensitivity to nearly 90%, with some decline in specificity. Two protocols are superior on the basis of sensitivity and specificity. One consists of independent interpretations of clinical and mammographic examinations without regard to medicohistorical data, with biopsy recommended if either is positive. In the other, biopsy is recommended only upon complete review of the medical record in the context of suspicious clinical, mammographic, or thermographic evaluations. Forty-four percent of all cancers detected on screening were 1 cm or less, and in 73% of the cancer cases there was no nodal involvement. These statistics especially reflect the value of mammography as an early detection modality. The rate of cancers detected per biopsy increased from 18 to 27% over the 4-year period indicating increased diagnostic expertise and highlighting the value of expert screening.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/009174358090016X
The evolving role of the dynamic thermal analysis in the early detection of breast cancer
Abstract
It is now recognised that the breast exhibits a circadian rhythm which reflects its physiology. There is increasing evidence that rhythms associated with malignant cells proliferation are largely non-circadian and that a circadian to ultradian shift may be a general correlation to neoplasia.
Cancer development appears to generate its own thermal signatures and the complexity of these signatures may be a reflection of its degree of development.
The limitations of mammography as a screening modality especially in young women with dense breasts necessitated the development of novel and more effective screening strategies with a high sensitivity and specificity. Dynamic thermal analysis of the breast is a safe, non invasive approach that seems to be sensitive for the early detection of breast cancer.
This article focuses on dynamic thermal analysis as an evolving method in breast cancer detection in pre-menopausal women with dense breast tissue. Prospective multi-centre trials are required to validate this promising modality in screening.
The issue of false positives require further investigation using molecular genetic markers of malignancy and novel techniques such as mammary ductoscopy.
Keywords: Circadian rhythm, breast cancer, screening and dynamic thermal analysis
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1084358/
Int J Surg. 2014 Dec;12(12):1439-43. doi: 10.1016/j.ijsu.2014.10.010. Epub 2014 Nov 7.
Evaluation of digital infra-red thermal imaging as an adjunctive screening method for breast carcinoma: a pilot study.
Rassiwala M1, Mathur P2, Mathur R3, Farid K3, Shukla S3, Gupta PK4, Jain B4.
Author information
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Early screening plays a pivotal role in management of breast cancer. Given the socio-economic situation in India, there is a strong felt need for a screening tool which reaches the masses rather than waiting for the masses to reach tertiary centers to be screened. Digital infra-red thermal imaging (DITI) or breast thermography as a screening test offers this possibility and needs to be carefully assessed in Indian scenario.
METHODS:
The study involved 1008 female patients of age 20-60 years that had not been diagnosed of cancer of breast earlier. All the subjects in this population were screened for both the breasts using DITI. Based on the measured temperature gradients (ΔT) in thermograms, the subjects were classified in one of the three groups, normal (ΔT ≤ 2.5), abnormal (ΔT > 2.5, <3) and potentially having breast cancer (ΔT ≥ 3). All those having (ΔT > 2.5) underwent triple assessment that consisted of clinical examination, radiological and histopathological examination. Those with normal thermograms were subjected to only clinical examination.
RESULTS:
Forty nine female breasts had thermograms with temperature gradients exceeding 2.5 and were subjected to triple assessment. Forty one of these which had ΔT ≥ 3 were proven to be having cancer of breast and were offered suitable treatment. Eight thermograms had temperature gradients exceeding 2.5 but less than 3. Most of these were lactating mothers or had fibrocystic breast diseases. As a screening modality, DITI showed sensitivity of 97.6%, specificity of 99.17%, positive predictive value 83.67% and negative predictive value 99.89%.
CONCLUSION:
Based on the results of this study involving 1008 subjects for screening of breast cancer, thermography turns out to be a very useful tool for screening. Because it is non-contact, pain-free, radiation free and comparatively portable it can be used in as a proactive technique for detection of breast carcinoma.
Copyright © 2014 Surgical Associates Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
KEYWORDS:
Breast cancer; Digital infrared thermal imaging (DITI); Mammography; Screening; Thermography
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25448668
Am J Surg. 2008 Oct;196(4):523-6. doi: 10.1016/j.amjsurg.2008.06.015.
Effectiveness of a noninvasive digital infrared thermal imaging system in the detection of breast cancer.
Arora N1, Martins D, Ruggerio D, Tousimis E, Swistel AJ, Osborne MP, Simmons RM.
Author information
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Digital infrared thermal imaging (DITI) has resurfaced in this era of modernized computer technology. Its role in the detection of breast cancer is evaluated.
METHODS:
In this prospective clinical trial, 92 patients for whom a breast biopsy was recommended based on prior mammogram or ultrasound underwent DITI. Three scores were generated: an overall risk score in the screening mode, a clinical score based on patient information, and a third assessment by artificial neural network.
RESULTS:
Sixty of 94 biopsies were malignant and 34 were benign. DITI identified 58 of 60 malignancies, with 97% sensitivity, 44% specificity, and 82% negative predictive value depending on the mode used. Compared to an overall risk score of 0, a score of 3 or greater was significantly more likely to be associated with malignancy (30% vs 90%, P < .03).
CONCLUSION:
DITI is a valuable adjunct to mammography and ultrasound, especially in women with dense breast parenchyma.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18809055
J Biomech Eng. 2007 Feb;129(1):33-9.
Thermal detection of embedded tumors using infrared imaging.
Abstract
Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women. Thermography, also known as thermal or infrared imaging, is a procedure to determine if an abnormality is present in the breast tissue temperature distribution. This abnormality in temperature distribution might indicate the presence of an embedded tumor. Although thermography is currently used to indicate the presence of an abnormality, there are no standard procedures to interpret these and determine the location of an embedded tumor. This research is a first step towards this direction. It explores the relationship between the characteristics (location and power) of an embedded heat source and the resulting temperature distribution on the surface. Experiments were conducted using a resistance heater that was embedded in agar in order to simulate the heat produced by a tumor in the biological tissue. The resulting temperature distribution on the surface was imaged using an infrared camera. In order to estimate the location and heat generation rate of the source from these temperature distributions, a genetic algorithm was used as the estimation method. The genetic algorithm utilizes a finite difference scheme for the direct solution of the Pennes bioheat equation. It was determined that a genetic algorithm based approach is well suited for the estimation problem since both the depth and the heat generation rate of the heat source were accurately predicted.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17227096
AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2003 Jan;180(1):263-9.
Efficacy of computerized infrared imaging analysis to evaluate mammographically suspicious lesions.
Parisky YR1, Sardi A, Hamm R, Hughes K, Esserman L, Rust S, Callahan K.
Author information
Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
The purpose of this clinical trial was to determine the efficacy of a dynamic computerized infrared imaging system for distinguishing between benign and malignant lesions in patients undergoing biopsy on the basis of mammographic findings.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS:
A 4-year clinical trial was conducted at five institutions using infrared imaging of patients for whom breast biopsy had been recommended. The data from a blinded subject set were obtained in 769 subjects with 875 biopsied lesions resulting in 187 malignant and 688 benign findings. The infrared technique records a series of sequential images that provides an assessment of the infrared information in a mammographically identified area. The suspicious area is localized on the infrared image by the radiologist using mammograms, and an index of suspicion is determined, yielding a negative or positive result.
RESULTS:
In the 875 biopsied lesions, the index of suspicion resulted in a 97% sensitivity, a 14% specificity, a 95% negative predictive value, and a 24% positive predictive value. Lesions that were assessed as false-negative by infrared analysis were microcalcifications, so an additional analysis was performed in a subset excluding lesions described only as microcalcification. In this restricted subset of 448 subjects with 479 lesions and 110 malignancies, the index of suspicion resulted in a 99% sensitivity, an 18% specificity, a 99% negative predictive value, and a 27% positive predictive value. Analysis of infrared imaging performance in all 875 biopsied lesions revealed that specificity was statistically improved in dense breast tissue compared with fatty breast tissue.
CONCLUSION:
Infrared imaging offers a safe noninvasive procedure that would be valuable as an adjunct to mammography in determining whether a lesion is benign or malignant.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12490517
Breast J. 1998 Jul;4(4):245-51. doi: 10.1046/j.1524-4741.1998.440245.x.
Infrared Imaging of the Breast: Initial Reappraisal Using High-Resolution Digital Technology in 100Successive Cases of Stage I and II Breast Cancer.
Keyserlingk JR1, Ahlgren PD, Yu E, Belliveau N.
Abstract
There is a general consensus that earlier detection of breast cancer should result in improved survival. Current breast imaging relies primarily on mammography. Despite better equipement and regulation, variability in interpretation and tissue density still affect accuracy. A number of adjuvant imaging techniques are currently being used, including doppler ultrasound and gadolinium-enhanced MRI, which can detect cancer-induced neovascularity. In order to assess the potential contribution of currently available high-resolution digital infraredtechnology capable of recognizing minute regional vascular flow related temperature variation, we retrospecitively reviewed the relative ability of our preoperative clinical exam, mammography, and infrared imaging to detect 100 new cases of ductal carcinoma in situ, stage I and II breast cancer. While the false-negative rate of infrared imaging was 17%, at least one abnormal infrared sign was detected in the remaining 83 cases, including 10 of the 15 patients, a slightly younger cohort, who had nonspecific mammograms. The 85% sensitivity rate of mammography alone thus increased to 95% when combining both imaging modalities. Access to infrared information was also pertinent when confronted with the relatively frequent contributory but equivocal clinical exam (34%) and mammography (19%). The average size of those tumors undetected by mammography or infrared imaging was 1.66 cm and 1.28 cm, respectively, while the false-positive rate ofinfrared imaging in a concurrent series of 100 successive benign open breast biopsies was 19%. Our initial experience would suggest that, when done concomitantly with clinical exam and mammography, high-resolution digital infrared imaging can provide additional safe, practical, and objective information. Further evaluation, preferably in controlled prospective multicenter trials, would provide valuable data.
A review of thermography as promising non-invasive detection modality for breast tumor
Abstract
From the last 1.5 decades of complying with the strict standardized thermogram interpretation protocols by proper infrared trained personnel as documented in literature, breast thermography has achieved an average sensitivity and specificity of 90%. An abnormal thermogram is reported as the significant biological risk marker for the existence of or continues development of breast tumor. This review paper further discusses the performance and environmental requirements in characterizing thermography as being used for breast tumor screening under strict indoor controlled environmental conditions. The essential elements on performance requirements include display temperature color scale, display temperature resolution, emissivity setting, screening temperature range, workable target plane, response time and selection of critical parameters such as uniformity, minimum detectable temperature difference, detector pixels and drift between auto-adjustment. The paper however does not preclude users from potential errors and misinterpretations of the data derived from thermal imagers.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S129007290800149X
Breast thermography and cancer risk prediction†Abstract
Thermography makes a significant contribution to the evaluation of patients suspected of having breast cancer. The obviously abnormal thermogram carries with it a high risk of cancer. This report summarizes the results of patients with questionable or stage Th 111 thermograms. From approximately 58,000 patients, most of whom had breast complaints, examined between August 1965 and June 1977, the conditions of a group of 1,245 women were diagnosed at initial examination as either normal or benign disease by conventional means, including physical examination, mammography, ultrasonography, and fine needle aspiration or biopsy, when indicated, but nevertheless categorized as stage Th 111 indicating a questionable thermal anomaly. Within five years, more than a third of the group had histologically confirmed cancers. The more rapidly growing lesions with shorter doubling times usually show progressive thermographic abnormalities consistent with the increased metabolic heat production associated with such cancers. Thermography is useful not only as a predictor of risk factor for cancer but also to assess the more rapidly growing neoplasms.
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cncr.2820450110/abstract
J Biomed Opt. 2014 Jan;19(1):16018. doi: 10.1117/1.JBO.19.1.016018.
High-performance near-infrared imaging for breast cancer detection.
El-Sharkawy YH1, El-Sherif AF2.
Abstract
We present a method for the noninvasive determination of the size, position, and optical properties of tumors in the human breast. The tumor is first detected by photothermal imaging. It is then sized, located, and optically characterized using designed digital image processing and edge-detection pattern recognition. The method assumes that the tumor is spherical and inhomogeneous and embedded in an otherwise homogeneous tissue. Heat energy is deposited in the tissue by absorption of near-infrared (NIR) Nd:YAG laser radiation, and its subsequent conversion to heat via vibrational relaxation causes a rise in temperature of the tissue. The tumor absorbs and scatters NIR light more strongly than the surrounding healthy tissue. Heat will diffuse through the tissue, causing a rise in temperature of the surrounding tissue. Differentiation between normal and cancerous tissues is determined using IR thermal imaging. Results are presented on a 55-year-old patient with a papillary breast cancer. We found that these results provide the clinician with more detailed information about breastlesions detected by photothermal imaging and thereby enhance its potential for specificity.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24474504
Indian J Med Res. 2011 Nov;134(5):725-31. doi: 10.4103/0971-5916.91012.
Framework for estimating tumour parameters using thermal imaging.
Umadevi V1, Raghavan SV, Jaipurkar S.
Author information
Abstract
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES:
Non-invasive and non-ionizing medical imaging techniques are safe as these can be repeatedly used on as individual and are applicable across all age groups. Breast thermography is a non-invasive and non-ionizing medical imaging that can be potentially used in breast cancer detection and diagnosis. In this study, we used breast thermography to estimate the tumour contour from the breast skin surface temperature.
METHODS:
We proposed a framework called infrared thermography based image construction (ITBIC) to estimate tumour parameters such as size and depth from cancerous breast skin surface temperature data. Markov Chain Monte Carlo method was used to enhance the accuracy of estimation in order to reflect clearly realistic situation.
RESULTS:
We validated our method experimentally using Watermelon and Agar models. For the Watermelon experiment error in estimation of size and depth parameters was 1.5 and 3.8 per cent respectively. For the Agar model it was 0 and 8 per cent respectively. Further, thermal breast screening was done on female volunteers and compared it with the magnetic resonance imaging. The results were positive and encouraging.
INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS:
ITBIC is computationally fast thermal imaging system and is perhaps affordable. Such a system will be useful for doctors or radiologists for breast cancer diagnosis.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22199114
J Med Syst. 2012 Jun;36(3):1503-10. doi: 10.1007/s10916-010-9611-z. Epub 2010 Oct 19.
Thermography based breast cancer detection using texture features and Support Vector Machine.
Acharya UR1, Ng EY, Tan JH, Sree SV.
Abstract
Breast cancer is a leading cause of death nowadays in women throughout the world. In developed countries, it is the most common type of cancer in women, and it is the second or third most common malignancy in developing countries. The cancer incidence is gradually increasing and remains a significant public health concern. The limitations of mammography as a screening and diagnostic modality, especially in young women with dense breasts, necessitated the development of novel and more effective strategies with high sensitivity and specificity. Thermal imaging (thermography) is a noninvasive imaging procedure used to record the thermal patterns using Infrared (IR) camera. The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of using thermal imaging as a potential tool for detecting breast cancer. In this work, we have used 50 IR breast images (25 normal and 25 cancerous) collected from Singapore General Hospital, Singapore. Texture features were extracted from co-occurrence matrix and run length matrix. Subsequently, these features were fed to the Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier for automatic classification of normal and malignant breast conditions. Our proposed system gave an accuracy of 88.10%, sensitivity and specificity of 85.71% and 90.48% respectively.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20957511
J Turk Ger Gynecol Assoc. 2010 Sep 1;11(3):152-7. doi: 10.5152/jtgga.2010.24. eCollection 2010.
Comparison of standard mammography with digital mammography and digital infrared thermal imagingfor breast cancer screening.
Köşüş N1, Köşüş A1, Duran M1, Simavlı S1, Turhan N1.
Author information
Abstract
Breast cancer is the most common malignancy in women. Screen-film mammography (SFM) has been considered the gold standard forbreast cancer screening and detection. Despite its recognized value in detecting and characterizing breast disease, mammography has important limitations and its false-negative rate ranges from 4% to 34%. Given these limitations, development of imaging modalities that would enhance, complement, or replace mammography has been a priority. Digital mammography (FFDM) and digital infrared thermalimaging (DITI) are some of these alternative modalities.
KEYWORDS:
Mammography; breast cancer; digital infrared thermal imaging; digital mammography
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24591923
Anticancer Res. 2009 Nov;29(11):4697-702.
Patients with clinical/radiological hyperplasia of mammary glands show pathological persistence of temperature of skin points.
Li H1, Shen X, Ying J, Zhao L, Jin M, Thu S, Sun C, Voorhorst F, Soiland H, Lende T, Baak JP.
Author information
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Hyperplasia of mammary glands (HMG) is a frequent disease, with increased cancer risk for women aged 20-55 years. The aim of this study was to explore a non-invasive method to identify which patients with breast complaints need additional mammography for HMG diagnosis.
PATIENTS AND METHODS:
Skin digital infrared thermal imaging (DITI) in 74 patients with HMG and 63 controls was carried out.
RESULTS:
In the controls, the temperature of points close to the breasts and ovaries decreased with age. In women older than 39 years, HMG patients showed persistently high temperatures but in the lower extremities there were no differences. With a threshold for thoracic skin point KI21 of 33.2 degrees C, sensitivity and specificity in distinguishing controls from HMGs were 96% and 52% (p=0.0001) respectively, as validated in a test set, similar to recent DITI results for breast cancer detection.
CONCLUSION:
Infrared temperature imaging of specific skin points is a rapid, non-invasive method to identify patients requiring mammography to confirm HMG.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20032422
IEEE Trans Biomed Eng. 2009 Mar;56(3):903-6. doi: 10.1109/TBME.2008.2005584. Epub 2008 Sep 16.
Motion artifact reduction in breast dynamic infrared imaging.
Agostini V1, Knaflitz M, Molinari F.
Abstract
Dynamic infrared imaging is a promising technique in breast oncology. In this paper, a quantum well infrared photodetector infrared camera is used to acquire a sequence of consecutive thermal images of the patient’s breast for 10 s. Information on the local blood perfusion is obtained from the spectral analysis of the time series at each image pixel. Due to respiratory and motion artifacts, the direct comparison of the temperature values that a pixel assumes along the sequence becomes difficult. In fact, the small temperature changes due to blood perfusion, of the order of 10-50 mK, which constitute the signal of interest in the time domain, are superimposed onto large temperature fluctuations due to the subject’s motion, which represent noise. To improve the time series S/N, and as a consequence, enhance the specificity and sensitivity of the dynamic infrared examination, it is important to realign the thermal images of the acquisition sequence, thus reducing motion artifacts. In a previous study, we demonstrated that a registration algorithm based on fiducial points is suitable to both clinical applications and research, when associated with a proper set of skin markers. In this paper, we quantitatively evaluate the performance of different marker sets by means of a model that allows for estimating the S/N increment due to registration, and we conclude that a 12-marker set is a good compromise between motion artifact reduction and the time required to prepare the patient.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19272933
Med Image Comput Comput Assist Interv. 2008;11(Pt 2):798-805.
Dynamic thermal modeling of the normal and tumorous breast under elastic deformation.
Abstract
To quantify the complex relationships between (1) the temperature, and temperature differences, on the surface of the breast as recorded by infrared thermal imaging and (2) the underlying physiological and pathological factors, we have developed a dynamic finite element method for comprehensive modeling of both the thermal and elastic properties of normal and tumorous breast tissues. In the steady state, the gravity-induced deformation is found to cause markedly asymmetric surface temperatures even though all thermal-elastic properties are symmetrical. In the dynamic state, the time course of breast thermal imaging in cold-stress and thermal-recovery procedures is found to be useful in characterizing the origins of the thermal contrast on the breast surface. The tumor-induced thermal contrast has slower temporal behavior than the deformation-induced thermal contrast on the breast surface, which may lead to improvements in breast-tumor diagnosis.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18982678
The important role of infrared imaging in breast cancer
ABSTRACT
The results reported support the use of IR imaging in risk assessment, detection, and as a prognostic indicator. We present preliminary evidence showing that the improvements in technology that have been incorporated into second-generation, focal-plane, indium-antimonide detector systems can significantly improve breast IR images.
The important role of infrared imaging in breast cancer. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/12484300_The_important_role_of_infrared_imaging_in_breast_cancer [accessed May 1, 2016].
Comput Methods Programs Biomed. 2016 Jan;123:68-80. doi: 10.1016/j.cmpb.2015.09.014. Epub 2015 Sep 25.
Potentialities of steady-state and transient thermography in breast tumour depth detection: A numerical study.
Amri A1, Pulko SH2, Wilkinson AJ3.
Author information
Abstract
Breast thermography still has inherent limitations that prevent it from being fully accepted as a breast screening modality in medicine. The main challenges of breast thermography are to reduce false positive results and to increase the sensitivity of a thermogram. Further, it is still difficult to obtain information about tumour parameters such as metabolic heat, tumour depth and diameter from a thermogram. However, infrared technology and image processing have advanced significantly and recent clinical studies have shown increased sensitivity of thermography in cancer diagnosis. The aim of this paper is to study numerically the possibilities of extracting information about the tumour depth from steady state thermography and transient thermography after cold stress with no need to use any specific inversion technique. Both methods are based on the numerical solution of Pennes bioheat equation for a simple three-dimensional breast model. The effectiveness of two approaches used for depth detection from steady state thermography is assessed. The effect of breast density on the steady state thermal contrast has also been studied. The use of a cold stress test and the recording of transient contrasts during rewarming were found to be potentially suitable for tumour depth detection during the rewarming process. Sensitivity to parameters such as cold stress temperature and cooling time is investigated using the numerical model and simulation results reveal two prominent depth-related characteristic times which do not strongly depend on the temperature of the cold stress or on the cooling period.
Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
KEYWORDS:
Cold stress; Depth detection; Full width at half maximum (FWHM); Steady state thermal contrast; Transient thermal contrast
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26522612
An approach to analyze the breast tissues in infrared images using nonlinear adaptive level sets and Riesz transform features.
Prabha S1, Suganthi SS2, Sujatha CM1.
Author information
Abstract
BACKGROUND:
Breast thermography is a potential imaging method for the early detection of breast cancer. The pathological conditions can be determined by measuring temperature variations in the abnormal breast regions. Accurate delineation of breast tissues is reported as a challenging task due to inherent limitations of infrared images such as low contrast, low signal to noise ratio and absence of clear edges.
OBJECTIVE:
Segmentation technique is attempted to delineate the breast tissues by detecting proper lower breast boundaries and inframammary folds. Characteristic features are extracted to analyze the asymmetrical thermal variations in normal and abnormal breast tissues.
METHODS:
An automated analysis of thermal variations of breast tissues is attempted using nonlinear adaptive level sets and Riesz transform. Breast thermal images are initially subjected to Stein’s unbiased risk estimate based orthonormal wavelet denoising. These denoised images are enhanced using contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalization method. The breast tissues are then segmented using non-linear adaptive level set method. The phase map of enhanced image is integrated into the level set framework for final boundary estimation. The segmented results are validated against the corresponding ground truth images using overlap and regional similarity metrics. The segmented images are further processed with Riesz transform and structural texture features are derived from the transformed coefficients to analyze pathological conditions of breast tissues.
RESULTS:
Results show that the estimated average signal to noise ratio of denoised images and average sharpness of enhanced images are improved by 38% and 6% respectively. The interscale consideration adopted in the denoising algorithm is able to improve signal to noise ratio by preserving edges. The proposed segmentation framework could delineate the breast tissues with high degree of correlation (97%) between the segmented and ground truth areas. Also, the average segmentation accuracy and sensitivity are found to be 98%. Similarly, the maximum regional overlap between segmented and ground truth images obtained using volume similarity measure is observed to be 99%. Directionality as a feature, showed a considerable difference between normal and abnormal tissues which is found to be 11%.
CONCLUSION:
The proposed framework for breast thermal image analysis that is aided with necessary preprocessing is found to be useful in assisting the early diagnosis of breast abnormalities.
KEYWORDS:
Breast thermography; Riesz transform; denoising; level sets; segmentation
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26409908
Stud Health Technol Inform. 2015;216:746-50.
Thermal Signal Analysis for Breast Cancer Risk Verification.
Silva LF1, Sequeiros GO1, Santos ML2, Fontes CA2, Muchaluat-Saade DC1, Conci A1.
Abstract
Breast cancer is the second most common cancer in the world. Currently, there are no effective methods to prevent this disease. However, early diagnosis increases chances of remission. Breast thermography is an option to be considered in screening strategies. This paper proposes a new dynamic breast thermography analysis technique in order to identify patients at risk for breast cancer. Thermal signals from patients of the Antonio Pedro University Hospital (HUAP), available at the Mastology Database for Research with Infrared Image – DMR-IR were used to validate the study. First, each patient’s images are registered. Then, the breast region is divided into subregions of 3×3 pixels and the average temperature from each of these regions is observed in all images of the same patient. Features of the thermal signals of such subregions are calculated. Then, the k-means algorithm is applied over feature vectors building two clusters. Silhouette index, Davies-Bouldin index and Calinski-Harabasz index are applied to evaluate the clustering. The test results showed that the methodology presented in this paper is able to identify patients with breast cancer. Classification techniques have been applied on the index values and 90.90% hit rate has been achieved.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26262151
Individual and combined effectiveness of palpation, thermography, and mammography in breast cancer screening
Abstract
Detection data generated at a national Breast Cancer Detection Demonstration Project over a 4-year period are discussed. Interpretation of these data indicates that mammography with a true positive rate of 74% is the most sensitive individual detection modality for asymptomatic women. However, multimodality screening protocols can increase sensitivity to nearly 90%, with some decline in specificity. Two protocols are superior on the basis of sensitivity and specificity. One consists of independent interpretations of clinical and mammographic examinations without regard to medicohistorical data, with biopsy recommended if either is positive. In the other, biopsy is recommended only upon complete review of the medical record in the context of suspicious clinical, mammographic, or thermographic evaluations. Forty-four percent of all cancers detected on screening were 1 cm or less, and in 73% of the cancer cases there was no nodal involvement. These statistics especially reflect the value of mammography as an early detection modality. The rate of cancers detected per biopsy increased from 18 to 27% over the 4-year period indicating increased diagnostic expertise and highlighting the value of expert screening.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/009174358090016X
Cancer. 1988 Aug 1;62(3):484-8.
Breast thermography. A prognostic indicator for breast cancer survival.
Isard HJ1, Sweitzer CJ, Edelstein GR.
Abstract
A prognostic classification for thermographic staging of breast cancer has been applied to a cohort of 70 patients from 5040 screenees enrolled in the Albert Einstein Medical Center (AEMC) Breast Cancer Detection Demonstration Project (BCDDP). A diagnosis of breast cancer was established in each case before December 31, 1980. None of the patients have been lost to follow-up which extended from a minimum of 6 to a maximum of 13 years. Survival rates for those with favorable, equivocal, and poor thermographic factors are compared with each other and with results in accordance with tumor-node-metastasis (TNM) classification. As of December 31, 1986, there have been 22 (31.4%) deaths, all attributed to breast cancer. The thermographic scoring system clearly shows shorter survival for patients with poor thermographic prognostic factors, 30% surviving at 5 years and only 20% at 10 years compared with overall survival of 80% at 5 years and 70% at 10 years.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3390789