Fractal signatures for the characterization of mammograms

In this paper mammograms are characterized into normal and those with microcalcifications, benign and malignant masses using fractal signatures and distance measures. Here, the gray level intensity surface of the mammogram is assumed to be a blanket of different thickness. Different areas and volumes of this blanket are used to estimate the fractal dimension and hence the fractal signatures and the distance measures. It is found that the fractal signatures of the normal mammograms are much smaller than the cancerous ones. The results show that the differential distance measure could correctly distinguish the normal mammograms from the cancerous mammograms. The mammograms for the study were obtained from the online MIAS database.