The CALMA system: an artificial neural network method for detecting masses and microcalcifications in digitized mammograms

The CALMA (Computer Assisted Library for MAmmography) project is a five years plan developed in a physics research frame in collaboration between INFN (Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare) and many Italian hospitals. At present a large database of digitized mammographic images (more than 6000) was collected and a software based on neural network algorithms for the search of suspicious breast lesions was developed. Two tools are available: a microcalcification clusters hunter, based on supervised and unsupervised feedforward neural network, and a massive lesions searcher, based on a hibrid approach. Both the algorithms analyzed preprocessed digitized images by high frequency filters. Clini…