Efficient Pre-processing of USF and MIAS Mammogram Images

High quality mammogram images are high resolution and large size images. Processing these images require high computational capabilities. The transmission of these images over the net is sometimes critical especially if the diagnosis of remote radiologists is required. In this paper, a preprocessing technique for reducing the size and enhancing the quality of USF and MIAS mammogram images is introduced. The algorithm analyses the mammogram image to determine if 16-bit to 8-bit conversion process is required. Enhancement is applied later followed by a scaling process to reduce the mammogram size. The performances of the algorithms are evaluated objectively and subjectively. On average 87% reduction in size is obtained with no loss of data at the breast region.