Tissue Characterization by an Analysis of the Distribution of Attenuation Values in Computed Tomography Scans

Abstract

Attenuation values as measured by a computed tomography scanner were distributed in both magnitude and space. The distribution in magnitude was described by the mean, SD and skewness of histograms of attenuation values. The distribution in space was characterized by autocorrelation functions or histograms of gradients. Using these measures of scan structure, it was shown that the spatial distribution of attenuation values was influenced by tissue. Also, there were some indications that changes in [human] tissue structure corresponding to disease can be detected.