Comparative analysis of image enhancement techniques for uterine fibroid ultrasound

Abstract

Background: The Ultrasound image is a vital diagnostic tool in the preliminary clinical
assessment of many diseases, especially in Obstetrics and Gynecology. However, poor ultrasound
image quality often leads to the inaccurate diagnosis of diseases such as uterine fibroids. Many
researchers have proposed various methods for improving ultrasound image quality.
Objective: To explore by comparison of four image enhancement techniques, the best approach for the
enhancement of uterine fibroid images towards achieving better diagnosis and proper management of
the disease..
Methodology: The study assessed and compared the performance of four (4) different image
enhancement techniques namely; Contrast stretching, Gamma correction, Histogram equalization
(HE) and Contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE) on uterine fibroid
ultrasound image Twenty (20) Ultrasound images from thedatabasewere downloaded and
processed in MATLAB (2015a version) using image processing toolbox. Based on histogram
distribution and statistical features (Mean, Standard Deviation and Entropy), the enhanced images
were evaluated and compared.
Results: The results show that Contrast stretching performed better based on Histogram
distribution while CLAHE shows superior performance on Statistical features
Conclusion: Contrast stretching and Contrast limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE)
have demostrated good performance in enhancement of uterine fibroid ultrasound imag