Relevance vector machine learning for detection of microcalcifications in mammograms

Accurate detection of microcalcification (MC) clusters is an important problem in breast cancer diagnosis. In this paper, we propose the use of a recently developed machine learning technique - relevance vector machine (RVM) - for automatic detection of MCs in digitized mammograms. RVM is based on Bayesian estimation theory, and as a feature it can yield a decision function that depends on only a very small number of so-called relevance vectors. The proposed method is tested using a database of 141 clinical mammograms, and compared with a support vector machine (SVM) classifier, which we developed previously. It is demonstrated that the RVM classifier achieves essentially the same detection performance as the SVM classifier, but does so with a much sparser kernel representation. Consequently, the RVM classifier greatly reduces the computational complexity, making it more suitable for real-time implementation.