Method and system for wavelet based detection of colon polyps

A method of identifying colon polyps in a digital volume, wherein said volume comprises a plurality of values corresponding to a domain of points in a 3D space, said method comprising the steps of:

• selecting a mother wavelet scaling function that corresponds to a polyp;
• performing a forward wavelet transformation on said volume to obtain a set of wavelet coefficients, wherein each wavelet coefficient is associated with a length scale;
• determining, for each length scale, a multiplier magnitude;
• multiplying, for each length scale, the wavelet coefficients by the multiplier for that length scale to form a multiplied coefficient set for said length scale;
• performing, for each length scale, an inverse wavelet transform on the multiplied coefficient set corresponding to said length scale, to obtain a reconstructed volume;
• analyzing said reconstructed volume for the existence of polyps;
• and
• prior to performing the forward wavelet transform, calculating a first derivative of said volume, and selecting the mother wavelet function to be similar to a first derivative of a polyp.

A program storage device readable by a computer, tangibly embodying a program of instructions executable by the computer to perform method steps for identifying colon polyps in a digital volume, wherein said volume comprises a plurality of values corresponding to a domain of points in a 3D space, said method comprising the steps of:

• selecting a mother wavelet scaling function that corresponds to a polyp;
• performing a forward wavelet transformation on said volume to obtain a set of wavelet coefficients, wherein each wavelet coefficient is associated with a length scale;
• determining, for each length scale, a transformation magnitude, wherein the transformation magnitude comprises a multiplier magnitude;
• forming, for each length scale, a transformed set of wavelet coefficients associated with said length scale by multiplying, for each length scale, the wavelet coefficients by the multiplier for that length scale to form a multiplied coefficient set for said length scale;
• performing, for each length scale, an inverse wavelet transform on the transformed wavelet coefficients corresponding to said length scale, to obtain a reconstructed volume, wherein said inverse wavelet transform is performed on said multiplied coefficient set for said length scale;
• analyzing said reconstructed volume for the existence of polyps;
• and
• prior to performing the forward wavelet transform, calculating a first derivative of said volume, and selecting the mother wavelet function to be similar to a first derivative of a polyp.