Computer-aided Diagnosis for MRI Screening of the Breast in High Risk Women

Breast cancer is currently the second leading cause of death from cancer in Canadian women. Routine mammograms are considered the best screening approach for early detection in the general population but magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is recommended in addition to mammography to women at high risk of developing breast cancer. The main reason for this recommendation is the high sensitivity attributed to the characteristic uptake of gadolinium contrast agent by cancerous lesions during T1-weighted (T1w) dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) imaging. Dynamic lesion characteristics such as time-course uptake, morphology, and enhancement type patterns known as mass, non-mass or foci (Ph.D