Content based image retrieval for MR image studies of brain tumors

This work proposes a methodology for content-based image retrieval of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) and non-GBM tumors. Regions containing GBM lesions from 40 patients and non-GBM lesions from 20 patients were manually segmented from MR imaging studies (T1 post-contrast and T2 weighted channels) to form the training set. In addition to the two acquired channels, a composite image was formed by an image fusion method. Data reduction techniques, principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA), were applied on the training sets (T1 post, T2, composite, and multi-channel combining the PCA features from T1 post and T2). The retrieval accuracy was evaluated using a 'leave-one-out' strategy with query images belonging to 'normal', 'GBM' and 'non-GBM' classes. Several combinations of the similarity metric and classifier were used: Euclidean similarity measures with k-means classifier for the PCA and LDA features and support vector machine (SVM) nonlinear classifier (radial basis function kernel) with the PCA derived features. The SVM classifier served as a comparison of nonlinear techniques vs. linear ones. Multi-channel PCA was 100% accurate in classifying a query image as either 'normal' or 'abnormal'. The highest accuracy in classification of tumor grade (GBM or other Grade 3) was 77% and was achieved by SVM coupled with the PCA features. The proposed algorithm intent is to be integrated into an automated decision support system for MR brain tumor studies.