Jjmch. Delarosette et al., COMPUTERIZED ANALYSIS OF TRANSRECTAL ULTRASONOGRAPHY IMAGES IN THE DETECTION OF PROSTATE CARCINOMA, British Journal of Urology, 75(4), 1995, pp. 485-491
Objective To report on the use of automated image analysis in the inte
rpretation of transrectal ultrasonographic images of the prostate. Pat
ients and methods During transrectal ultrasonography, images were reco
rded from biopsies performed in 127 patients. Subsequently in the imag
e, the puncture place was marked and analysed. Analysis of the images
was performed with the Automated Urologic Diagnostic Expert (AUDEX) sy
stem, consisting of a personal computer connected to the ultrasound ma
chine. From the images collected, parameters can be calculated for ima
ge classification. The parameters obtained with this procedure were co
rrelated with the histological result. Results Evaluation showed a sen
sitivity of 84.8% and specificity of 87.5%. The positive and negative
predictive values, to predict prostate carcinoma, were 84.8% and 87.5%
, respectively. Conclusion Automated image analysis can help in the di
agnosis of prostate carcinoma. In patients with nonpalpable lesions or
with poorly visualized tumours, image analysis is superior to the sta
ndard current diagnostic techniques.