COMPUTER-ANALYSIS OF TRANSRECTAL ULTRASOUND IMAGES OF THE PROSTATE FOR THE DETECTION OF CARCINOMA - A PROSPECTIVE-STUDY IN RADICAL PROSTATECTOMY SPECIMENS

Purpose: The reliability and objectivity of computer assisted transrec tal ultrasound are examined. Materials and Methods: Pathological exami nation of radical prostatectomy specimens was compared prospectively t o automated cancer detection in corresponding transrectal ultrasound i mages. Results: For automated cancer detection, a sensitivity of 0.75 and a specificity of 0.78 were obtained. Moreover, 74% of human interp retation of the percentage of malignancy in the analyzed images was eq ual to the actual calculated percentage (Pearson's product moment corr elation coefficient 0.85). Conclusions: Comparing these results to tho se obtained with normal transrectal ultrasound, automated analysis pro vides additional information in the interpretation of transrectal ultr asound images by color coding them in an objective manner according to the probability of malignancy.