Semi-automatic Detection of Liver Lesions in Computed Tomography Images Using Digital Image Processing Techniques

Abstract

The incidence of liver lesions has increased dramatically in recent years . Early diagnosis is the best solution for rescuing patients exposed to this type of cancer , which opens the possibility of treatment .There are a number of techniques that are used in the treatment of digital medical images , but segmentation is the best technique , the technique used in this research depends on the calculation of the value of intensities of anatomical structures of the liver in the so called histogram to determine the extent of intensities of the infected and non-infected regions this method called Otsu’s method. Otsu's method uses an exhaustive search to evaluate the criterion for maximizing the between-class variance First all the noises had been removed using smoothing and shapening filters the use of two filters to optimize because smoothing out tissue variation would remove all image details that are needed for proper segmentation. Second the histogram had been calculated which represent the intensities of each elements in the image ,Then using mathematical equations the value of the main key had been obtained in the detection of the affected regions .After segmention done, morphological operations used to enhance the lesions boundaries .To simplify the understanding and use of this method , a user interface is designed for users who are not require to know technical details. This method is effective in detecting of liver lesions but it take time in the process of calculation , so Otsu work on to develop its technique to new one name it 'two dimensional Otsu’s method' and characterized by effective and less calculation time , this is the next step for those who want development in the way of my research.