Identification of rib boundaries in chest X-ray images using elliptical models

We are developing a new method for the identification of rib boundaries in chest x-ray images. The identification of rib boundaries is important for radiologist diagnosis of lung diseases as TB. The radiologists use the ribs as reference for location and can be used to eliminate false positives in the detection of abnormalities. Our method automatically identifies rib boundaries from raw images through a sequence of steps using a combination of image processing techniques. Radiographs are still very relevant in practice because in Portugal and many other countries it is the first step for TB detection. We have access a large database of x-ray images provided by the pneumological screening centre (CDP) of Vila Nova de Gaia, in Portugal.