Automatic assessment of the quality of patient positioning in mammography

Thomas Bülow; Kirsten Meetz; Dominik Kutra; Thomas Netsch; Rafael Wiemker; Martin Bergtholdt; Jörg Sabczynski; Nataly Wieberneit; Manuela Freund; Ingrid Schulze-Wenck

doi:10.1117/12.2007980

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26 February 2013 Automatic assessment of the quality of patient positioning in mammography

Thomas Bülow, Kirsten Meetz, Dominik Kutra, Thomas Netsch, Rafael Wiemker, Martin Bergtholdt, Jörg Sabczynski, Nataly Wieberneit, Manuela Freund, Ingrid Schulze-Wenck

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Proceedings Volume 8670, Medical Imaging 2013: Computer-Aided Diagnosis; 867024 (2013) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2007980
Event: SPIE Medical Imaging, 2013, Lake Buena Vista (Orlando Area), Florida, United States

Abstract

Quality assurance has been recognized as crucial for the success of population-based breast cancer screening programs using x-ray mammography. Quality guidelines and criteria have been defined in the US as well as the European Union in order to ensure the quality of breast cancer screening. Taplin et al. report that incorrect positioning of the breast is the major image quality issue in screening mammography. Consequently, guidelines and criteria for correct positioning and for the assessment of the positioning quality in mammograms play an important role in the quality standards. In this paper we present a system for the automatic evaluation of positioning quality in mammography according to the existing standardized criteria. This involves the automatic detection of anatomic landmarks in medio- lateral oblique (MLO) and cranio-caudal (CC) mammograms, namely the pectoral muscle, the mammilla and the infra-mammary fold. Furthermore, the detected landmarks are assessed with respect to their proper presentation in the image. Finally, the geometric relations between the detected landmarks are investigated to assess the positioning quality. This includes the evaluation whether the pectoral muscle is imaged down to the mammilla level, and whether the posterior nipple line diameter of the breast is consistent between the different views (MLO and CC) of the same breast. Results of the computerized assessment are compared to ground truth collected from two expert readers.

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Thomas Bülow, Kirsten Meetz, Dominik Kutra, Thomas Netsch, Rafael Wiemker, Martin Bergtholdt, Jörg Sabczynski, Nataly Wieberneit, Manuela Freund, and Ingrid Schulze-Wenck "Automatic assessment of the quality of patient positioning in mammography", Proc. SPIE 8670, Medical Imaging 2013: Computer-Aided Diagnosis, 867024 (26 February 2013); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2007980

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