Spatial second-derivative image processing: an application to optical mammography to enhance the detection of breast tumors

We present an image-processing method that enhances the detection of regions of higher absorbance in optical mammograms. At the heart of this method lies a second-derivative operator that is com- monly employed in edge-detection algorithms. The resulting images possess a high contrast, an automatic display scale, and a greater sensitivity to smaller departures from the local background absor- bance. Moreover, the images are free of artifacts near the breast edge. This second-derivative method enhances the display of structural in- formation in optical mammograms and may be used to robustly select areas of interest to be further analyzed spectrally to determine the oxygenation level of breast lesions. © 2003 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumen-