Computer-aided classification of colorectal polyps based on vascular patterns

Background and study aims: The aim of the present study was to develop and evaluate a computer-based method for automated classification of colorectal polyps on the basis of vascularization features. Patients and methods: In a prospective study with 128 patients who underwent a zoom NBI colonoscopy, 209 detected polyps were imaged and subsequently removed for histological analysis. The proposed computer-based method consists of several steps: preprocessing, vessel segmentation, feature extraction and classification. The results of the automatic classification were compared to those of human observers, who were b…