Global motion invariant signatures for fast and accurate motion tracking in a digital image-based elasto-tomography system

Abstract

A method for converting digital images of an actuated breast into an accurate description of breast surface motion from a digital image-based elasto-tomography system comprises the steps of artificially placing a high density of fiducial markers on the breast surface, whereby the fiducial markers have different qualities and are placed in different proportions according to their quality; utilizing motion invariant properties of the fiducial markers to form a global motion invariant signature; tracking the markers on the actuated breast surface from image to image in each digital camera using the global motion invariant signature; and using the cameras calibration to measure the breast surface motion.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The invention relates generally to the field of breast cancer screening, and in particular to a technique of breast surface motion tracking in a digital image-based elasto-tomography system.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]Breast cancer is a significant health problem in both developed and developing countries. It is estimated that each year the disease is diagnosed in over 1,000,000 women worldwide and is the cause of death in over 400,000 women. There are many treatment options available, including surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and hormonal therapy. These treatments are significantly more effective in reducing the mortality of the disease with early detection through breast cancer screening programmes.[0003]The standard method for detection of breast cancer is mammography. However mammography can cause significant patient discomfort and requires radiation exposure. Furthermore there are often variable results and inconsistencies in reading a...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0013]The invention has the advantages of accurately and efficiently tracking large numbers of markers that are close together for a large array of digital cameras. The invention has flexibility in varying the type of pattern and shape of the fiducial markers, and distribution density of the fiducial markers for improved accuracy and allows significant freedom in the amount of pixel movement between images in feature registration for improved efficiency.

Problems solved by technology

Breast cancer is a significant health problem in both developed and developing countries.

However mammography can cause significant patient discomfort and requires radiation exposure.

Furthermore there are often variable results and inconsistencies in reading and interpreting the images of breast tissue from the X-Ray machine especially for smaller tumour sizes of the order of 1-5 mm.

However, they are also costly, in terms of equipment, and take significant time to use.

They are therefore limited for practical screening applications.

This scalability of performance is not true for X-Ray or ultrasound based approaches.

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