Automated processing of radioisotopic scans

The use of the computer as a radiological tool has received much attention within the past few years. A constantly expanding population, a demand for improved medical care, a limited number of radiologists, and the substantial number of films to be viewed have contributed to the interest. Computer diagnosis could provide the radiologist with speedier analysis, more accurate measurements, and greater percentage of correct diagnoses. A major step in the automated processing of radiographic images is extraction of significant features from a background of irrelevant detail. Many algorithms, including template matching, contour trace, region enumeration, linguistic approaches, and statistical analysis have been applied to this problem with varying success. In order to implement an automated system of scene analysis, the pictorial information is represented in a digital form and processed on an IBM 360/50.