BIOMEDICAL IMAGE

PROCESSING

INTRODUCTION

Image (from Latin word imago), is an artifact like

a two dimensional picture, that has a similar
appearance to some subject like a physical object
or a person.
Image processingis any form ofsignal
processingfor which the input is an image and the
output may either be an image or a set of
characteristics orparameters related to the image.
Image processing is used in areas such as
multimedia, computing, secured image
communication, biomedical imaging, remote
sensing, pattern recognition, image compression
and retrieval, etc.
BIOMEDICAL IMAGING
Itis the technique and process used to create
images of the human body or parts of it for clinical
purposes or for studying anatomy and physiology.
A multitude of diagnostic medical imaging systems
are used to probe the human body. They comprise
both microscopic (viz. cellular level) and
macroscopic (viz. organ and systems level)
modalities.
Biomedical image processing includes the analysis,
enhancement and display of images captured via
instruments such as X-Ray, Ultrasound, MRI
(Magnetic Resonance Imaging), CT scanners,
nuclear medicine and optical imaging
technologies.
NEED OF IMAGE PROCESSING IN
MEDICINE
The images produced by equipments (like CT scanner, MRI,
etc.) are composed of pixels, to which discrete brightness
and color values are assigned.
Through image processing they can be efficiently processed,
evaluated and analyzed, and through compression stored and
made available to many places at the same time through
appropriate communication networks and protocols.
It is possible for doctors to see the interior portions of the
human body, with extreme clarity, ease and detail, thus
facilitating easy detection and diagnosis of various diseases.
It has also helped doctors to make keyhole surgeries without
opening too much of the body.
Image processing techniques that were originally developed
for analyzing remote sensing data can be modified to analyze
the outputs of medical imaging systems to get the best
advantage to analyze symptoms of patients with ease.
NEED OF IMAGE PROCESSING IN
MEDICINE
Main tasks performed by the image processing unit in medicine are:
Interfacing analog outputs of sensors such as microscopes,
endoscopes, ultrasound etc., to digitizers and in turn to Image
Processing systems.
Image enhancements.
Changing density dynamic range of B/W images.
Color correction and manipulating of colors within a color image.
Contour detection and area calculations of the cells of a
biomedical image.
Restoration and smoothing of images.
Registration of multiple images and creating mosaic of multiple
images.
Construction of 3-D images from 2-D images.
Generation of negative images.
Zooming of images.
Removal of artifacts from the image.
PRINCIPLES OF IMAGE
PROCESSING
An image is usually a function of two spatial
variables, e.g. f[x, y], which represents the
brightness f at the Cartesian location [x, y].
It can also be defined as an array, or a matrix, of
square pixels (picture elements) arranged in
columns and rows.
After converting image information into an array
of integers, the image can be manipulated,
processed, and displayed by computer.
Computer processing is used for image
enhancement, restoration, segmentation,
description, recognition, coding, reconstruction,
transformation.
Types Of Images
1. Analog image
. An analog image is described by the spatial
distribution of brightness or gray levels that
reflect a distribution of detected energy.
. The image can be displayed using a medium
such as paper or film.
. Black and white images require only one gray
level or intensity variable while color images
require multiple variable like the three basic
colors red, blue, green(RGB).
. When combined together, the RGB intensities
can produce a selected color at a spatial
location of the image.
Types Of Images
2. Digital image
. A digital image is discrete in both spatial
and intensity (gray level) domains.
. A discrete spatial location of finite size with
a discrete gray-level value is called a pixel.
. For example, an image of 1024 x 1024
pixels may be displayed in 8-bit gray-level
resolution. This means that each pixel in the
image may have any value from 0 to 255
(i.e. total of 256 gray levels).
. The pixel dimensions would depend on the
spatial sampling.
Color Formats Used In Image
Processing
1. The RGB color model
. It relates very closely to the way we
perceive color with the r, g and b receptors
in our retinas.
. RGB uses additive color mixing and is the
basic color model used in television or any
other medium that projects color with light
as in computers and for web graphics, but
it cannot be used for print production.
Color Formats Used In Image
Processing
2. The CMYK color model
. The 4-colour CMYK model used in printing
lays down overlapping layers of varying
percentages of transparent cyan (C),
magenta (M) and yellow (Y) inks. In
addition a layer of black (K) ink can be
added.
. Cya
The CMYK model uses the subtractive color
n
model.

Magen Yellow
ta
Fourier Transform
The Fourier transform plays a very significant role in medical imaging
and image analysis.
The Fourier transform is a linear transform that provides information
about the frequency spectrum of the signal. The Fourier
transformation F (w) of a function of time F (t) is given by,

It is used in image processing for image enhancement, restoration,

filtering, and feature extraction to help image interpretation and
characterization.
Itdecomposes afunctionof time (asignal) into the frequencies that
make it up. It is also used in image reconstruction methods for
medical imaging systems. For example, the Fourier transform is used
for image reconstruction in MRI.
Once image is transformed into frequency domain, degradation
related to noise and undesired frequencies can be filtered out. The
information can then be used to recover the restored image through
inverse Fourier transform.
COMPONENTS OF IMAGE
PROCESSING
Biomedical image processing covers
biomedical signal gathering, image forming,
picture processing, and image display to
medical diagnosis based on features extracted
from images. Some basic image processing
techniques include outlining, de-blurring, noise
cleaning, filtering, search and texture analysis.
Image processing covers four main areas:
Image formation.
Visualization.
Analysis of image.
Management of the acquired information.
COMPONENTS OF IMAGE
PROCESSING
COMPONENTS OF IMAGE
PROCESSING
A. Image Formation
Image formation includes all the steps from capturing the image to forming a
digital image matrix. The main steps are:
Acquisition: It is defined as the action of retrieving an image from some source,
usually a hardware-based source (For example: a CT scanner). Performing
image acquisition is the first step in the workflow sequence because, without an
image, no processing is possible. The image that is acquired is completely
unprocessed and is the result of whatever hardware was used to generate it.
Acquisition methods vary for different medical instruments.
Digitization: It is the process of converting information into adigitalformat. In
this format, information is organized into discrete units of data (calledbits) that
can be separately addressed (usually in multiple-bit groups calledbytes). This is
thebinarydata that computers and many devices with computing capacity can
process. Different analog to digital convertors are used for converting the
acquired data from instruments to digital format. The type of convertor used
depends upon the required resolution, speed, application and cost. Some
commonly available convertors are:
Dual Slope ADC
Successive Approximation ADC
Flash ADC
Serial or ripple ADC
Sigma Delta Convertor Type ADC
Combination of flash and successive approximation type ADC
There is a need to digitize the acquired analog data so that it can be processed
with the help of different software such as MATLAB, etc.
COMPONENTS OF IMAGE
PROCESSING
B. Image Enhancement And Visualization
It refers to all types of manipulation that is done on the data acquired in
digital format, finally resulting in an optimized output of the image.
The purpose of image enhancement methods is to process an acquired
image for better contrast and visibility of features of interest for visual
examination as well as subsequent computer-aided analysis and diagnosis.
There is no unique general theory or method for processing all kinds of
medical images for feature enhancement. Specific medical imaging
applications (such as cardiac, neurological, muscular, mammography, etc.)
present different challenges in image processing for feature enhancement
and analysis. Medical images show characteristic information about the
physiological properties of the structures and tissues. However, the quality
and visibility of information depends on the imaging modality and the
response functions of the imaging scanner. Hence the goal of this step is to:
Eliminate the extraneous components such as noise from the signal. Often this is
done using linear filters. Types of filters used are: High pass Filters, Low pass Filters
and Notch pass filters.
Adjust the different parameters of the image such as brightness, contrast, visibility,
color saturation, etc.
Image enhancement can be accomplished using Adobe Photoshop, Corel
PHOTO-PAINT and Origin software in order to achieve good quality images
for accurate quantitative analysis.
COMPONENTS OF IMAGE
PROCESSING
C. Image Analysis
Image analysis includes all the steps of
processing, which are used for quantitative
measurement as well as interpretation of
biomedical images.
These steps require a prior knowledge of the
nature and content of the images, which is
integrated into the algorithm on a high level
of abstraction.
Thus the process of image analysis is very
specific, and developed algorithms can be
transferred directly to application domains.
COMPONENTS OF IMAGE
PROCESSING
D. Image Management
Image management sums up all the techniques that provide the
efficient storage, communication, transmission, archiving, and
access (retrieval) of image data.
The methods of telemedicine are also a part of image
management. There are different formats in which the digital image
can be stored in memory. Some of the most common file formats
used for saving images in the digital form (in hard drive or
memory) is:
GIF: An 8-bit (256 color), non-destructively compressed bitmap format.
Mostly used for web. It has several sub-standards one of which is the
animated GIF.
JPEG: It is a very efficient (i.e. much information per byte) destructively
compressed 24 bit (16 million colors) bitmap format.
TIFF: It is the standard 24 bit publication bitmap format.
Image compression is also a part of image management. Through
image compression large no. of images can be stored and made
available to many places at the same time through appropriate
communication networks and protocols such as the Digital Imaging
and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) protocol.
X-Ray Machine and Digital
Radiography
Two-dimensional projection radiography is the oldest medical imaging
modality and is still one of the most widely used imaging methods in
diagnostics.
Conventional film radiography uses an X-Ray tube to focus a beam on the
imaging area of a patient's body to record an image on a film. The image
recorded on the film is a 2-D projection of the three-dimensional (3-D)
anatomical structure of the human body.
Scattering can create a major problem in projection radiography. The
scattered photons can create artifacts and artificial structures in the image
that can lead to an incorrect interpretation or at least create a difficult
situation for diagnosis.
In case of digital radiography, the combination of intensifying screen and film
is replaced by a phosphor layered screen coupled with a charge-coupled
device (CCD)-based panel. A solid-state detector system in digital radiography
uses a structured thallium-doped cesium iodide (CsI) scintillation material to
convert X-Ray photons into light photon, which are then converted into
electrical signal by CCDs through a fiber optics coupling interface.
Electrical output signal sensitivity can be controlled much more efficiently
than in a film-based system. The digital detector system also provides
excellent linearity and gain control, which directly affects the SNR of the
acquired data. For this reason, a digital detection system provides a superior
dynamic range compared with the film-based systems. However, the
resolution of a digital image is limited by the detector size and data collection
method.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging System
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a noninvasive medical test that
helps physicians diagnose and treat medical conditions.
MRIuses a powerful magnetic field, radio frequency pulses and a
computer to produce detailed pictures of organs, soft tissues, bone and
virtually all other internal body structures.
The hydrogen proton is the most common form of nuclei used in MRI. The
three properties of hydrogen nuclei (protons) mapping are the spin-lattice
relaxation time Ti, Spin-spin relaxation time T 2, and the spin density p.
Magnetic resonance imaging is a complex multidimensional imaging
modality that produces extensive amounts of data. Imaging methods and
techniques applied in signal acquisition allow reconstruction of images
with multiple parameters that represent various physical and chemical
properties of the matter of the object.
The imager system includes the computer for image processing, display
system and the control console. The computer system collects the signal
after analog to digital conversion, corrects, recomposes and stores the
image.
Analog to digital convertors of 16 bits or higher are used and during data
acquisition, information is acquired at the rate of about 800 kbps.
Algorithms like the fast Fourier transformation is used to convert the time
domain data to image data. Data is stored on high speed disks.
Ultrasonic Imaging
Systems
In this method a piezoelectric crystal-based transducer can be used as a
source to form an ultrasound beam as well as a detector to receive the
returned signal from the tissue. In a plastic casing, a piezoelectric crystal is
used along with a damping material layer and acoustic insulation layer inside
the plastic casing. An electromagnetic tuning coil is used to apply a
controlled voltage pulse to produce ultrasound waves. In the receiver
mode, the pressure wave of the returning ultrasound signal is used to create
an electric signal through the tuned electromagnetic coil.
The total travel distance traveled by the ultrasound pulse at the time of
return to the transducer is twice the depth of the tissue boundary from the
transducer. Thus, the maximum range of the echo formation can be
determined by the speed of sound in the tissue multiplied by half of the
pulse-repetition period.
When the echoes are received by the transducer crystal, their intensity is
converted into a voltage signal that generates the raw data for imaging.
The voltage signal then can be digitized and processed according to the need
to display on a computer monitor as an image.
Ultrasound images appear noisy with speckles, lacking a continuous
boundary definition of the object structure. The interpretation and
quantification of the object structure in ultrasound images is more
challenging than in X-ray computed tomography (X-ray CT) or magnetic
resonance (MR) images.
The operator in ultrasound imaging has a great ability to control the imaging
parameters in real time. These parameters include positioning, pre-
amplification, time gain compensation and rejection of noisy echoes.
X-Ray Computed Tomography
It uses computer-processedX-raysto produceimages of specific
areas of a scanned object, allowing the user to see inside the object
without cutting.
Digital geometry processingis used to generate a3-Dimage of the
inside of the object from a large series of two-dimensional
radiographicimages taken around a singleaxis of rotation. The
cross-sectional images are used fordiagnosticand therapeutic
purposes in various medical disciplines. CT produces a volume of
data that can be manipulated in order to demonstrate various
bodily structures based on their ability to block the X-ray beam.
In conventional CT machines, anX-ray tubeand detector are
physically rotated behind a circular shroud. Sometimes contrast
materials such as intravenousiodinatedcontrast are used. This is
useful to highlight structures such as blood vessels that otherwise
would be difficult to delineate from their surroundings. Using
contrast material can also help to obtain functional information
about tissues.
A visual representation of the raw data obtained is called
asinogram, yet it is not sufficient for interpretation. Once the scan
data has been acquired, the data must be processed using a form
oftomographic reconstruction, which produces a series of cross-
sectional images.
X-Ray Computed
Tomography
Earlier methods, such as filtered back projection, assume a perfect
scanner and highly simplified physics, which leads to a number of
artifacts, high noise and impaired image resolution.
Iterative techniques provide images with improved resolution, reduced
noise and fewer artifacts, as well as the ability to greatly reduce the
radiation dose in certain circumstances.
The disadvantage is a very high computational requirement, but
advances in computer technology andcomputing techniques, such as
use of highly parallelGPUalgorithms or use of specialized hardware such
asFPGAsorASICs, now allow practical use.
For three dimensional reconstruction of the image obtained Multi Planar
Reconstruction(MPR) is the simplest method of reconstruction. A volume
is built by stacking the axial slices. The software then cuts slices through
the volume in a different plane (usually orthogonal). MPR is frequently
used for examining the spine. Axial images through the spine will only
show one vertebral body at a time and cannot reliably show the inter
vertebral discs. By reformatting the volume, it becomes much easier to
visualize the position of one vertebral body in relation to the others.

CONCLUSION
In medical sciences, image processing has enabled for
accurate and fast quantitative analysis and visualization
of medical images of numerous modalities such as MRI,
CT, X-Ray, etc.
It has also enabled doctors and researchers at remote
sites to easily share data and analyze, thereby
enhancing their ability to diagnose, monitor and treat
various medical disorders.
Due to advancement in image processing tools, it has
become possible to acquire high quality images of
different parts of the human body and analyze the
images using various softwares, thereby facilitating the
early detection of many diseases such as cancer,
abnormalities in organs, etc. thus enabling accurate
diagnosis which has helped in saving human life.
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Biomedical Image Processing, Thomas Martin
Deserno, Springer
Medical Image Processing, K.M.M Rao and V.D.P
Rao
Medical Image Analysis, Second edition, Atam P.
Dhawan, IEEE Press Series in Biomedical
Engineering
Image Processing And Data Analysis In
Computed Tomography, E. D. Selechi1, O. G.
Duliu, University Of Bucharest, Romania
Handbook of Biomedical Instrumentation,
Second Edition, R S Khandpur, Tata McGraw- Hill
Education