Blood Vessel Segmentation in Breast MRI: Comprehensive Review of Techniques and Challenges

Angiogenesis is the ongoing formation of new blood vessels from existing ones, occurring throughout life in both healthy and diseased states.  Furthermore, it plays a crucial role in the development and progression of breast cancer.  Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is a sensitive, non-invasive technique for monitoring and identifying lesions, establishing it as standard clinical practice.  However, its effectiveness in visualizing blood vessels in breast tissue requires further investigation.  Blood vessel analysis provides valuable insights into tumor progression and information that can be correlated with the underlying tumor biology.  This paper presents a comprehensive review of techniques and methodologies.  A key contribution of this work is the proposal of a consolidated workflow that synthesizes the strengths of the various approaches reviewed, offering a more integrated solution to blood vessel segmentation in breast MRI.  The paper also examines the challenges and limitations in this field, including image quality, algorithmic constraints, anatomical complexities, and data scarcity.  Our study identifies ongoing issues, particularly the need for robust evaluation metrics and standardized datasets.  Addressing these issues is essential for driving future advancements in breast MRI vessel segmentation and improving clinical outcomes.

breast MRI
breast cancer
blood vessel segmentation
angiogenesis
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