Software to Measure Ovarian Follicles from Sonography

This research will develop new software, to be used with transvaginal ultrasonography, thatwould assist in counting and measuring antral follicles > 2 mm within the ovaries of premenopausalwomen. A computer-assisted method that could quickly and reproducibly quantitate the human ovarianfollicular pool would support physiologic, epidemiologic, and clinical studies of the ovary and couldprovide new direct measures of ovarian function. Phase I will design and test software techniques todevelop a three-dimensional model of the ovary from a series of manually-scanned ultrasound imagesand to use this model to compute the number and sizes of follicles. Phase II will develop and test a fullsoftware prototype capable of supporting operational use in the research and eventually the clinicalsetting. The major anticipated technical innovation is automated software to locate, track and measurefollicles in the ovary from transvaginal ultrasound scans. The major anticipated health-relatedcontribution is all ability to use computer-assisted sonography for rapid and reliable assessment ofovarian morphology that may correlate with fertility, with age at menopause, and with risks of otherpathologies in reproductive age women.