CT Image Analysis of Hepatic Lesions Using CAD ; Fractal Texture Analysis

We investigated whether the CT images of hepatic lesions could be analyzed by computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) tool. We retrospectively reanalyzed 14 liver CT images (10 hepatocellular cancers and 4 benign liver lesions; patients who presented with hepatic masses). The hepatic lesions on CT were segmented by rectangular ROI technique and the morphologic features were extracted and quantitated using fractal texture analysis. The contrast enhancement of hepatic lesions was also quantified and added to the differential diagnosis. The best discriminating function combining the textural features and the values of contrast enhancement of the lesions was created using linear discriminant analysis. Textural feature analysis showed moderate accuracy in the differential diagnosis of hepatic lesions, but statistically insignificant. Combining textural analysis and contrast enhancement value resulted in improved diagnostic accuracy, but further studies are needed.