Abstract

Increased Nuchal Translucency is an indicator of increased risk for Down syndrome, which is identified by measuring Nuchal Translucency from ultrasound fetal images during 11 to 13+6 weeks of gestation. Increased NT is associated with chromosomal abnormalities. In this study an efficient classification system based on Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) is proposed to detect the normal and abnormal images with NT. Feature extraction is an essential pre-processing step for pattern recognition and machine learning problems. In order to classify the ultrasound image accurately, the texture features must be extracted effectively. In the proposed system, wavelet band signature, energy is used as features to classify the ultrasound image for the detection of Down syndrome using Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier. The experimental results of pre diagnosed database with Discrete wavelet Transform and SVM classifier give best results for classification of Down Syndrome images with Normal NT and abnormal NT.

Keywords:

Chromosomal abnormalities, Discrete Wavelet Transformation (DWT), Down syndrome, Nuchal Translucency (NT), Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier,

References

1. AIUM (American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine), 2013. Practice guideline for the performance of obstetric ultrasound examinations. J. Ultras. Med., 32: 1083-1101.
   CrossRef    PMid:23716532    
2. Bazzani, S. and A.D. Bevilacqua, 2000. Automatic detection of clustered micro calcifications in digital mammograms using an SVM classifier. Proceeding of the European Symposium on Artificial Neural Networks (ESANN’2000). Bruges, Belgium, pp: 195-200.
   
3. Cho, H.Y., J.Y. Kwon, Y.H. Kim, K.H. Lee, J. Kim, S.Y. Kim and Y.W. Park, 2012. Comparison of nuchal translucency measurements obtained using Volume NT(TM) and two- and three-dimensional ultrasound. Ultrasound Obst. Gyn., 39(2): 175-80.
   CrossRef    PMid:21412924    
4. Deng, Y., Y. Wang and P. Chen, 2008. Estimating fetal nuchal translucency parameters from its ultrasound image. Proceeding of the International Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedical Engineering (ICBBE, 2008), pp: 2643-2646.
   CrossRef    
5. Deng, Y., Y. Wang and P. Chen, 2010. Automated detection of fetal nuchal translucency based on hierarchical structural model. Proceeding of the IEEE 23rd International Symposium on Computer-Based Medical Systems (CBMS, 2010), pp: 78-84.
   CrossRef    
6. Hackshaw, A.K., N.J. Wald and J.E. Haddow, 1996. Down’s syndrome screening with nuchal translucency. Lancet, 348: 1740.
   CrossRef    
7. Kagan, K.O., D. Wright, C. Valencia, N. Maiz and K.H. Nicolaides, 2008. Screening for trisomies 21, 18 and 13 by maternal age, fetal nuchal translucency, fetal heart rate, free beta-hCG and pregnancy-associated plasma protein-A. Hum. Reprod., 23(9): 1968-1975.
   CrossRef    PMid:18544579    
8. Lai, K.W., A. Adeela and S. Eko, 2010. Computerized automatic nasal bone detection based on ultrasound fetal images using cross correlation techniques. WSEAS T. Inform. Sci. Appl., 7(8): 1068-1077.
   
9. Lai, K.W., Y.C. Hum and S. Eko, 2011. Computerized nuchal translucency three dimensional reconstruction, visualization and measurement for trisomy 21 prenatal early assessment. Int. J. Phys. Sci., 6(19): 4640-4648.
   
10. Ma, W.Y. and B.S. Manjunath, 1995. A comparison of wavelet transform features for texture image annotation. IEEE Image Proc., 2(23-26): 256-259.
    CrossRef    
11. Ma, W.Y. and B.S. Manjunath, 1996. Texture features and learning similarity. Proceeding of the IEEE Computer Society Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR’96), pp: 425-430.
    CrossRef    
12. Moratalla, J., K. Pintoffl, R. Minekawa, R. Lachmann, D. Wright and K.H. Nicolaides, 2010. Semi-automated system for measurement of nuchal translucency thickness. Ultrasound Obst. Gyn., 36: 412-416.
    CrossRef    PMid:20617517    
13. Muller, M.A., E. Pajkrt, O.P. Bleker, G.J. Bonsel and C.M. Bilardo, 2004. Disappearance of enlarged nuchal translucency before14 weeks gestation relationship with chromosomal abnormalities and pregnancy outcome. Ultrasound Obst. Gyn., 24(2): 169-174.
    CrossRef    PMid:15287055    
14. Nicolaides, K.H., G. Azar, D. Byrne and C. Mansur, 1992. Fetal nuchal translucency: ultra-sound screening for chromosomal defects in first trimester of pregnancy. BMJ, 304: 867-869.
    CrossRef    PMid:1392745 PMCid:PMC1882788    
15. Nicolaides, K.H., M.L. Brizot and R.J.M. Snijders, 1994. Fetal nuchal translucency: Ultrasound screening for fetal trisomy in the first trimester of pregnancy. Brit. J. Obstet. Gynaec., 101: 782-786.
    CrossRef    PMid:7947527    
16. Nina, M., K. Ashwini, Mouli, V.C. Mouli Rayapureddi, M. Ajit and Krishnapriya, 2013. Variaton of nuchal translucency with increasing crown rump length and gestational age in normal singleton pregnancies. IOSR J. Dent. Med. Sci., 6(3): 16-19.
    
17. Nirmala, S. and V. Palanisamy, 2009. Measurement of nuchal translucency thickness for detection of chromosomal abnormalities using first trimester ultrasound fetal images. Int. J. Comput. Sci. Inf. Secur., 6(3): 101-106.
    
18. Pandya, P.P., M.L. Brizot, P. Kuhn, R.J.M. Snijders and K.H. Nicolaides, 1994. First trimester fetal NT thickness and risk for trisomies. Obstet. Gynecol., 84: 420-423.
    PMid:8058241    
19. Pandya, P.P., A. Kondylios, L. Hilbert, R.J. Snijders and K.H. Nicolaides, 1995a. Chromosomal defects and outcome in 1015 fetuses with increased nuchal translucency. Ultrasound Obst. Gyn., 5(1): 15-19.
    CrossRef    PMid:7850583    
20. Pandya, P.P., R.J.M. Snijders, S.P. Johnson, M. De Lourdes Brizot and K.H. Nicolaides, 1995b. Screening for fetal trisomies by maternal age and fetal nuchal translucency thickness at 10-14 weeks of gestation. Brit. J. Obstet.
    CrossRef    PMid:8652486    
21. Park, J.H., M. Sofka, S.M. Lee, D.Y. Kim and S.K. Zhou, 2013. Automatic nuchal translucency measurement from ultrasonography. Proceeding of International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention (MICCAI, 2013).
    CrossRef    
22. Snijders, R.J.M. and K.H. Nicolaides, 1996. Sequential Screening. In: Nicolaides, K.H. (Ed.), Ultrasound Markers for Fetal Chromosomal Defects. Parthenon, Carnforth, UK, pp: 109-113.
    
23. Snijders, R.J.M., P. Noble, N. Sebire, A. Souka and K.H. Nicolaides, 1998. UK multicentre project on the assessment of risk of trisomy 21 by maternal age and fetal nuchal-translucency thickness at 10-14 weeks of gestation. Lancet, 351: 343-346.
    CrossRef    
24. Souka, A.P., E. Krampl, S. Bakalis, V. Heath and K.H. Nicolaides, 2001. Outcome of pregnancy in chromosomally normal fetuses with increased nuchal translucency in the first trimester. Ultrasound Obst. Gyn., 18(1): 9-17.
    CrossRef    PMid:11489218    
25. Spencer, K., R. Bindra, A.B. Nix, V. Heath and K.H. Nicolaides, 2003. Delta-NT or NT MoM: Which is the most appropriate method for calculating accurate patient-specific risks for trisomy 21 in the first trimester. Ultrasound Obst. Gyn., 22: 142-148.
    CrossRef    PMid:12905507    

Competing interests

The authors have no competing interests.

Open Access Policy

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

Copyright

The authors have no competing interests.