ISSN (Print) : 0974-6846

Indian Journal of Science and Technology, Vol 9(1), DOI: 10.17485/ijst/2016/v9i1/85765, January 2016 ISSN (Online) : 0974-5645

Identification of Lung Cancer Cell using Watershed

Segmentation on CT Images
S. Logesh kumar1*, M. Swathy2, S. Sathish1, J. Sivaraman1 and M. Rajasekar3
1
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Vel Tech Multitech, Chennai - 600062, Tamil Nadu, India;
logesh20feb@gmail.com, sathishdir@gmail.com, mountshiva@gmail.com
2
Department of Biomedical Engineering, St. Peters University, Chennai - 600054, Tamil Nadu,
India; swathy25591@gmail.com
3
Department of Computer Science Engineering, Vel Tech Multitech, Chennai - 600062,
Tamil Nadu, India; mrajasekarcse@gmail.com

Abstract
The detection of lung cancer through image processing is an important tool for diagnoses. Different methods were employed
to detect the cancerous cell of a lung with image pre processing such as Gabor filter, image segmentation using watershed
segmentation and feature extraction by using MATLAB. In this experiment, various Computed Tomography (CT) images
of lung were used as input image and obtained the output image in JPEG format. The resultant output of this technique
was evaluated. Based on the results, it shows that watershed segmentation technique is showed better results than other
segmentation techniques for lung cancer cell identification.

Keywords: CT Lung Cancer Image, Image Segmentation, Thresholding Operation, Watershed Method

1. Introduction the cancer cells identified, then entire diagnosis process

of Lung cancer detection system as followed by different
The rate of the lung cancer such as carcinoma, stages used in this technique.
adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinomas are the
highest type of cancer among all other lung cancer. The 1.1 Image Capture
survival rate of lung cancer persons decrease in the globe
In diagnosing of lung cancer capture lung image is very
since the diagnosis of cancer cell not at right time hence
essential. Many modern imaging techniques were used to
the gradual increase in cancer growth rate leads to death.
capture such as X-RAY, MRI, SPECT, PET and CT1. For
It related to their cellular characteristics. In general, lung
this cancer cell identification CT images are used as an
cancer has four stages. The prior detection of lung can-
input image with pixel size of 512 x 512 stored in a JPEG
cer had higher chances of thriving treatment. Mostly
format. Compare to X-ray CT images are perceptive char-
smoking rate increases the estimation cancer persons,
acteristics of identifying lung tumor size and lymph node
normally 85% males, 75% females and 5% by pulmonary
regions.
tuberculosis affected persons. So the need of this paper to
use various enhancement and segmentation techniques
for detecting lung cancer in early stage which gives more 1.2 Image Pre Processing
accurate result by using it. In cell identification nodule, In second stage of lung cancer cell identification we begin
the lung cancer used to analyses the entire feature and by means of image enhancement, which alter image con-
evaluate whether cancer cell exit in specimen or not. If trast level and grey values2. Image distortion and image

*Author for correspondence

 Identification of Lung Cancer Cell using Watershed Segmentation on CT Images
noise in the input images are removed by the following
pre processing steps.
1.2.1 Image Enhancement
Image enhancement techniques can be classified into
two types: Frequency domain and spatial domain. It
helps to improve the perception and interpretability
of boundary regions in the image for human viewers.
Changing of pixel value helps to form changes in orthog-
onal transformed image or it provides better processing
techniques based on frequency domain method it per-
forms. However pre processing tools are used as image
enhancement techniques for other image processing
they are most appropriate. FFT, Auto enhancement and
Gabor filtering3,4 are the three methods used as image
enhancement techniques5.
1.2.2 Image Segmentation
Using this process most of the image analysing task can
be done subsequently. In specific, the existing methods
depend highly on the segmentation result for image
description and recognition. But here we are using
Watershed segmentation and thresholding. Obtained
image after segmentation from thresholding had much
significance like fast processing speed less storage space
and simply by manipulation of 256 levels of grey level
image6.
Thresholding is the most dominant tool for image
segmentation by replacing original pixel values by black
pixel values (converts grey image into binary image).
Thresholding selects a threshold value T and it assigns
two levels to the image that is above value and below value
for original threshold value7,8.
2. Methodology
Mainly three image processing processes are used
throughout the paper. Here lung cancer cell identification
using image pre processing, feature extraction of cancer
image and finally the classification process. Lung cancer
images are collected from a private hospital Chennai.
Various stages involved in the cell identification of lung
cancer shown in Figure 1.
Lung cancer cell identification processes involves
convolution filter for smoothening the cancer cell images.
To enhance the image contrast and colour, then the nucle-
ases were segmented by using thresholding process in the
2 Vol 9 (1) | January 2016 | www.indjst.org
Figure 1. Stages in lung cancer cell identification.
images. Its a simple image processing techniques on lung
cancer detection system which can extract the feature
from the lung image of the nucleases by using morpho-
logical techniques9. The average value of intensity, region
of area, perimeter and eccentricity of the nucleus were the
extraction morphological features.
2.1 Watershed Segmentation
Using this segmentation method, we extract speed
indication in presence of background or objects at exact
image location. Topology surface and watershed algo-
rithm9 is applied to the marker location which is set to
be regional minima and helps to emphasize the image
information for analysing.
2.2 Feature Extraction
The most important stage in this method is to isolate
various preferred shapes or portions of the image. In image
processing methods, different algorithms are used to deter-
mine normality and abnormality of an image from the final
result of segmentation10. The area, perimeter, eccentricity
and average intensity are main features helps to form the
classification of cancer region. The features are:
2.2.1 Area
It gives definite value for the lesion pixel11 value in the lung
image. The lesion pixel values are assigned by the value 1.
Finally the pixel values which are 1 can be numbered and
named as area.
1.2.2 Perimeter
It gives the definite number of lesion pixel value at
outer line, which can be obtained by summation of
interconnection lesion pixel value12 and normal pixel vale
at the outer line of the lung image.
Indian Journal of Science and Technology
 S. Logesh kumar, M. Swathy, S. Sathish, J. Sivaraman and M. Rajasekar

2.2.3 Average Intensity and Roundness

It is an important feature to find the cancer lesion of
the lung image. If the lesion pixel value <1 roundness13
occurred for other shape of the image.
Thus the lesion size is identified as 20mm, which means
lesion size less than 20mm is a normal lung image and
greater than 20mm is considered as abnormal lung image.

3. Results and Discussion

The experimentation of lung cancer cell identification14 is
(c)
effectively processed by using CT lung image as an input
image and final result also obtained by using various image
processing techniques. Hence the original image and
enhanced image can be shown in the Figure 2 (a) & (b).
Then the output of enhanced image is used for image
segmentation processes. Thresholding and Watershed
segmentation are the two techniques used in image segmen-
tation. Resultant output of both methods can be produced
and estimated, obtained images are shown in Figure 2 (c) &
(d). By feature extraction, the segmented output images can
be processed and helps the system for lung cancer cell identi-
fication. Hence the peach colour of Figure 2 (d) is marked as
cancer affected part in the CT lung image. Figure 2. (a) Original image of the lungs. (b) Image of
the lungs after enhancement using Gabor filter. (c) Image
of the lungs after segmentation. (d) Image of the lungs after
watershed image.

4. Conclusion
In this study it is identified that the lesion size of cancer
cell is 20mm for normal lung and greater than 20mm as
abnormal lung cancer cell. Thus the resultant output of this
technique is obtained and evaluated. Based on this study
it is more evident that watershed segmentation technique
(a) is good for evaluation of lung cancer cell region.

5. Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank the fund from the
DST-FIST, Govt of India, vide Ref.: SR/FST/College-
189/2013, Dated: 6th August 2014.

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