INNOVATIVE X-RAY IMAGE ANALYSIS FOR STONE CLASSIFICATION

THE CONCEPT OF IN SITU IDENTIFICATION AND CLASSIFICATION OF URINARY STONES FROM X-RAY IMAGES WILL BE INVESTIGATED. THISTECHNIQUE HOLDS PROMISE BECAUSE OF THE RECENT AVAILABILITY OF DIGITAL X-RAY IMAGERY, WHICH IS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN RESOLUTION THAN CONVENTIONAL X-RAYS, AND THE ADVANCES IN EXPERT SYSTEMS FOR IMAGE PROCESSING AND PATTERN RECOGNITION. A COLLECTION OF EXISTING DIGITAL AND CONVENTIONAL X-RAYS OF KNOWN URINARY STONES WILL BE DIGITIZED TO OBTAIN COMPUTERIZED IMAGES. FROM THESE A SET OF STONE FEATURES WILL BE EXTRACTED FOR USE IN A STONE CLASSIFICATION SCHEME. THE GOAL IS TO ULTIMATELY DEVELOP A RELIABLE, AUTOMATED, AND USER-FRIENDLY PC-BASED EXPERT SYSTEM FOR IN SITU STONE IDENTIFICATION FROM DIGITAL AND/OR CONVENTIONAL X-RAYS. IF SUCCESSFUL, THIS WOULD AID THE PHYSICIAN IN DETERMINING THE OPTIMAL METHOD OF TREATMENT.