Ghada K. Gouhar

Band-limited histogram equalization for mammograms contrast enhancement

Early detection of breast cancer is the most effective method of reducing mortality. Mammography is at present the best available technique for early detection of breast cancer. The most common breast abnormalities that may indicate breast cancer are masses and calcifications. In mammograms, cancer is not easily detected by the eyes because of the bad imaging quality. To improve the correct diagnosis rate of cancer, image-enhancement techniques are often used to enhance the image and aid the radiologists. In this paper, we introduce a new algorithm for mammograms contrast enhancement. The proposed algorithm performs band-limited histogram equalization (BLHE) for certain intensity band of the mammogram histogram. According to the opinion of radiologist, the proposed algorithm showed promising performance when applied on several mammography images. In addition, the proposed algorithm was combined with a wavelet-based contrast enhancement method to further improve its performance.

Pectoral muscle identification in mammograms for Computer Aided Diagnosis of breast cancer

In Computer Aided Diagnosis (CAD) systems of breast cancer, extraction of the breast region and delineation of the breast contour with the pectoral muscle being removed is an essential preprocessing step. Primarily it allows the search for abnormalities to be limited to the region of the breast without undue effect from the background of the mammogram. This paper presents a new method for the identification and removal of the pectoral muscle in medio-Iateral oblique (MLO) view of mammogram using iterative thresholding. Our algorithm also identifies the presence of abnormal axillary lymph nodes, which is a major sign of breast carcinoma, and detects the breast border.

Splenic bed lavage: a new technique to avoid postsplenectomy subphrenic abscess in patients with portal hypertension

Aim The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of splenic bed lavage (SBL) (new technique) in prophylaxis against postsplenectomy subphrenic abscess. Study type This was a randomized control trial. Patients and methods A total of 44 patients with splenomegaly due to portal hypertension underwent splenectomy. They were randomized into two groups: group I included 25 patients who underwent SBL postoperatively and group II included 19 patients who underwent only tube drainage of the splenic bed. All patients were followed up by ultrasonography to check for occurrence of subphrenic collection. Results None of the group I patients developed subphrenic abscess (0% risk), whereas three patients in group II developed subphrenic abscesses, which needed either ultrasonography-guided drainage or open surgical drainage. Conclusion SBL is an effective technique to prevent subphrenic abscess after splenectomy in patients with portal hypertension.