Detection of microcalcifications using spatial filtering

This paper studied the feasibility of applying a spatial filter, called the iris filter, in microcalcification detection. While a majority of techniques manipulate data in the transform space, this spatial filter was chosen in an attempt to reduce computation. The iris filter has the ability to differentiate between circular and line-like objects. It computes the convergence of nearby gradient vectors relative to the centre of the filter. However, as the results of this paper show, the decrease in the constraint factor, which is an inner limit of the support region of the filter, also leads to a decrease in the detection ability of the filter. Hence, this filter is not ideal for detection of microcalcifications.