A Survey on Brain Tumor Detection Using Image
Processing Techniques
Luxit Kapoor
Amity School of Engineering and Technology
Amity University, Noida
luxit.kapoor@student.amity.edu
Abstract: Biomedical Image Processing is a growing and
demanding field. It comprises of many different types of
imaging methods likes CT scans, X-Ray and MRI. These
techniques allow us to identify even the smallest
abnormalities in the human body. The primary goal of
medical imaging is to extract meaningful and accurate
information from these images with the least error
possible. Out of the various types of medical imaging
processes available to us, MRI is the most reliable and
safe. It does not involve exposing the body to any sorts of
harmful radiation. This MRI can then be processed, and
the tumor can be segmented. Tumor Segmentation
includes the use of several different techniques. The
whole process of detecting brain tumor from an MRI can
be classified into four different categories: Pre-
Processing, Segmentation, Optimization and Feature
Extraction. This survey involves reviewing the research
by other professionals and compiling it into one paper.
Keyword: Image Processing, Segmentation, Filtering
Techniques, Tumor Detection
I. INTRODUCTION
Intracranial Neoplasm or Brain tumor is abnormal growth of
cells in the brain. Brain is the most complicated part of our
body. The symptoms of a tumor may be frequent headaches
and migraines. Over the years it may even lead to vision
loss. At this moment science is scarce about the origins and
factors leading to this abnormal growth. Tumors are
classified on two bases: whether they are cancerous or not
and their place of origin. The noncancerous form of the
tumor is referred to as Benign. These are easily
distinguishable and have a slow growth rate. Cancerous
tumors are called Malignant. These are very aggressive and
can be life threatening as these are hard to detect.
When it comes to detecting a tumor, doctors can opt for
either an X-ray or an MRI. MRI’s are appropriate when all
other test fail to provide sufficient information. An MRI scan
uses the properties of magnetism and radio waves to produce
accurate images. Neurosurgeons most commonly prescribe
MRI’s as it provides them with sufficient information to
detect even the smallest abnormalities.
978-1-5090-3519-9/17/$31.00 2017
c IEEE
Sanjeev Thakur, Professor
Amity School of Engineering and Technology
Amity University, Noida
sthakur3@amity.edu
However, as MRI uses magnetic waves, so it is unsuitable
for patients with pacemakers and metal implants. Now once
we have the scanned image of the brain, it is important to
accurately detect the tumor, its size, and its location. All this
information is necessary for the Neurosurgeon to complete
his diagnosis. This is where Computerized Image Processing
comes to help. With the use of different segmentation
techniques and feature extraction method, we can accurately
detect the tumor.
II. LITERATURE SURVEY
Processing an image is a complicated task. Before any
image can be processed, it is important to remove any
unwanted artifacts it may hold. Only then can the image be
processed successfully. Processing a medical image involves
two main steps. The first is the pre-processing of the image.
This involves performing operations like noise reduction and
filtering so that the image is suitable for the next step. The
second step is to perform segmentation and morphological
operations. These determine the size and the location of the
tumor
A.Image Pre-Processing: Before we begin processing our
image it is important that the image doesn't consist of any
unwanted data and is in the right format for processing so
that the results are accurate. This preparation is classified as
pre-processing. Pre-processing involves processes like
conversion to greyscale, noise reduction and noise removal,
image reconstruction, image enhancement and regarding
medical images it may involve steps like skull removal from
an MRI.
One of the most common pre-processing practice is the
conversion to a greyscale image. It is often considered that a
grey scale image is just a black and white image however
this is not true. A black and white image has only 2 shades
i.e black and white so at a point, the intensity can either be 1
or 0. However, a greyscale image consists of shades of grey
with no apparent color. This means that every pixel
represents the intensity value at that pixel without showing
any color. Also unlike a black and white image, a greyscale
image has many different shades with white being the
lightest shade and black being the darkest. Also in a
greyscale image the intensity values at a pixel are not
absolute and can be in fractions. Grey scaling is important as
it provides a more accurate color information which aids
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during segmentation. This is the primary step taken by all of
the researchers.
Once the image is converted to a greyscale image, it is then
filtered to remove excess noise. Filters are of two types, one
that allows the low-end frequencies to pass or filters that
allow the high-end frequencies to pass. A filter can either
flatten the image or sharpen the image. When a filter is used
to flatten the image, the noise is blurred leaving behind a
smooth image however the finer details of the image are
lost. If the image is to be sharpened than the filter enhances
the finer details, however this leads to an increased amount
of noise in the image. This noise should be clipped before
further processing as it can interfere with the accuracy of the
detection program.
A. Filtering: Median Filter is one of the most common noise
removal techniques in use today. The reason behind its
widespread usage is that it preserves the edges of the image.
As the name suggests, in this each entry is replaced with the
median of its adjacent entries. This filter is very effective for
removing salt and pepper noise and poisson’s noise. This
filter works by sweeping the entire signal in a pattern. The
intensity of the median of the pixels in the pattern becomes
the output intensity. Dr. M. Karnan[1], A.Lakshmi[2] and
Dr. A. S. Bhalchandra[3] all opted for using a median filter
to remove noise in their experiment.
Ming-Ni Wu[4] proposed a Pseudo Color Translation
method to be applied to the greyscale image. A pseudo color
image or a false color image differs from a regular image in
the fact that here the detection of colored objects is different
than from the actual image. A greyscale image is converted
to a pseudo color image by assigning a color value to each
intensity value based on some function. Examples of pseudo
color images are thermal imaging. It should be used when
only a single channel of data is available.
In their research, R. B. Dubey[5] used a Gaussian Filter to
remove noise from the input MRI image. Applying a
Gaussian filter is similar to Weierstrass Transform which
involves convolving using a Gaussian Function. The
application of a gaussian filter results in a smooth image.
This is similar to viewing the image through a translucent
screen. As noise is usually present in the high -frequency
regions of an image, so a gaussian filter is a low pass filter.
Research by Deepthi Murthy[6] involved the use of Sobel
Filter. ”The Sobel–Feldman operator is based on convolving
the image with a small, separable, and integer-valued filter
in the horizontal and vertical directions and is therefore
relatively inexpensive in terms of computations”[7]. It is a
type of derivative mask which works by calculating the
difference in pixel intensitites. The Sobel filter is used along
with edge detection algorithms where the output image
consists of well-defined edges.
B. Segmentation: The process of splitting an image into
multiple parts is known as segmentation. It creates various
sets of pixels within the same image. Segmenting an image
makes it easier for us to further analyze and extract
meaningful information from it. It is also described as “The
process of labeling each pixel in an image such that they
share the same characteristics”.[8] The process results in
pixels sharing a common property .
2017 7th International Conference on Cloud Computing, Data Science & Engineering – Confluence
The paper by Sneha Khare[9] uses Segmentation based on
Genetic Algorithm. These are algorithms that are based on
natural selection and evolution. These belong to a subclass
of an evolutionary algorithm, as it uses evolutionary
techniques and natural selection to solve optimization
problems. It works on a heuristic and an iterative model.[9]
Thresholding is also a very popular and straightforward
segmentation technique in use. It creates a binary segmented
image from a greyscale image. All it does is replace the
pixel with a black pixel at a certain point if the intensity at
that point is less than a certain intensity or replace it a with a
white pixel if the intensity is more than that.
An extension of this is Otsu Thresholding. In this, we
classify the image as having 2 classes, the background and
in the foreground. We try to determine class in which the
pixel is present. To do this we iterate through the various
values on either side until the inter-class variance is
minimum. This technique was used by Rajesh C. Patil[3]
and Deepthi Murthy[6].
Various Clustering Techniques are often used to segment
images. A cluster is a set of pixels that share some similar
characteristics. It involves classifying objects on the basis of
their similarity to each other. Clustering techniques can be
further divided into 2 types. Hard type clustering techniques
state that an object can only belong to one cluster only. This
results in very definitive segmentation. However, if the
image has low resolution and contrast then this technique
becomes very hard. An example of Hard clustering
algorithm is the K-Means Clustering Algorithm. The aim of
the K-Means algorithm is to segment the image into n
partitions with each object belonging to the cluster with the
nearest mean. Here each point can belong to only one
cluster. This technique was used by A.Lakshmi[2] and in the
research of Ming-Ni Wu[4]. Another type of clustering
technique is the soft clustering technique. An example of
this is the Fuzzy C-Means Algorithm. Here, unlike K means
algorithm, we assume that each object has the probability of
belonging to each cluster rather then just a single cluster. It
further assumes that an object may belong partially to more
then one cluster. This method is very commonly used in the
field of image segmentation. Dr. M. Karnan[1],
A.Lakshmi[2] both use this in their research.
R. B. Dubey[5] proposed the use of a Level Set
Segmentation method. It works on the principle of partial
differential equations. It works by continuously calculating
the differences between pixels. Now the image can be
segmented easily by using well defined mathematical
techniques and methods.
Another common type of segmentation technique is the
Watershed Segmentation technique. It is a region based
segmentation technique meaning that it searches of pixel and
region similarities. So for every pixel, our goal is to
determine what region the pixel belongs to. We start by
defining the watershed transform function using elementary
morphological operations. Next, we create an intensity
gradient of the input image. Then we perform the final
contour search on the gradient image with the help of the
watershed transform function. Sometimes this results in an
over-segmented image. To solve this problem we use
Marker-Controlled Watershed Segmentation. In this we
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predetermine certain elements of the image. Dr. A. S. noise. It works on the principle of convolution. Median
Bhalchandra[3], Ehab F. Badran[10] and Shantaram filter, unlike a Gaussian filter is a nonlinear filter. The result
Vasikarla[5] all use this technique. of this is that it is an edge preserving filter. On the other
hand in a Gaussian filter, as it is a low pass filter so the edge
C. Post-Processing: Successful Segmentation of the image information is lost and edges appear blurry and displaced.
is followed by the post-processing of the image. Post However, Gaussian filter is cheap to implement and less
Processing of the image involves steps to judge the size of complex than the median filter. Gaussian filter is very
the tumor and its type. Post processing may also involve effective in smoothening Gaussian noise. If edge
various optimization techniques to further improve the preservation is the main goal of pre-processing, then Sobel
result. Filter is a better option then both Median and Gaussian filter.
Dr. M. Karnan[1] proposed the use of Particle Swarm When it comes to segmentation, Thresholding is the easiest
Optimization. It is a meta-heuristic technique as it doesn't to implement and is widely used. This technique works well
require any initial assumptions. It works by creating a when the contrast between the background object and the
sample population and iteratively searches for the optimum foreground objects is relatively high, so that this difference
solution by upgrading generations. It is very similar to the in dynamic range can be thresholded. As segmentation is the
genetic algorithm, however, unlike the genetic algorithm it most important process while detecting tumor’s from an
does not require an evolutionary operator. MRI Image, the following table describes the typical usage
Another common post processing technique is Canny Edge and susceptibility factors for the various segmentation
Detection. It uses the principle that in an image there is a methods[11]. However, as thresholding is solely based on
sharp change in the contrast of the image at the boundaries the contrast of the image, this is not very useful as it does
of the objects present in the image. These points are known not extract much information from the input MRI. Due to its
as edges. It is at these points that there is a sharp change in simple nature, it is ideal for use in the initial stages of
the brightness. So to detect these edges we can use a processing.
gaussian filter to remove the noise and then use hysteresis to TABLE 1
detect the edges. This technique was used by A.Lakshmi[2] ADVANTAGES AND WEAKNESSES OF VARIOUS SEGMENTATION
TECHNIQUES
in their research.
In their paper, Sneha Khare[9] proposed using a Support
Vector Machine along with Curve Fitting for further
classification. Support Vector Machines are machine S Segmentatio Usage Susceptible To
learning models with learning algorithms which are used for No n Technique
regression analysis and classification. It learns at the initial
stages where the data should be predefined and label. It has
proven to be more accurate than other classification 1 Threshold • Should be used when the • Not able to extract
methods. Based contrast intensity is high much i n f o r ma t i o n
Segmentation • Less susceptible to noise from the input MRI
Morphological operations are also commonly used during than other images so can image and hence the
image post processing. These involve the use of a be used in conditions analysis may or not
mathematical structuring element to define the size of the where no pre-filtering is prove helpful
tumor and extracting meaningful information from the done • Cannot be used for
• When quick analysis of images with poor
image. Ehab F. Badran[10] proposed using a Harris-Laplace the image is to be done contrast or images
Or LOG-Lindeberg algorithm to further optimize the rather then exhaustive with a lot of
segmentation results whereas T.S. .Sadashivappa[6] used analysis background and
morphological operations like Binary Dilation and Binary foreground artifacts
Erosion for further optimization.
Chia-Chen Lin[4] and Deepthi Murthy[6] proposed using
Histogram Equalization. This is a contrast adjustment 2 Region Based • Watershed segmentation • Noise may lead to
technique and is very useful in images where the and region seed growing undesired artifacts in
background and foreground are both dark. It has widespread with well selected seed final result
use in X-Ray images as it enhances the visible bone regions can be used to • Susceptible to human
accurately extract object error as seed region is
structure in the image. of interests like tumors manually selected
The research by Ehab F. Badran[10] also proposed the use form input MRI’s
of a Convolutional Neural Network. A neural network is
inspired by the biological neural network of humans. It is of 3 Fuzzy C • Unsupervised techniques • Nois e has s e v e r e
great interest as it is a machine learning model that can learn Means, K and require least human affects on the final
and make interpretations from the input data thus further Means and interaction product
Level Set • Useful for large images • Sample selection and
optimizing the results and increasing the accuracy. Techniques with poor contrast establishing fuzzy sets
• Level set techniques can may be tedious
III. COMPARISON be used for computer-
Out of the many different filtering techniques available, the aided vision
median filter is the most commonly used. This is due to its
simplicity and its efficiency in removing salt-and-pepper

584 2017 7th International Conference on Cloud Computing, Data Science & Engineering – Confluence
Another common segmentation technique is watershed
segmentation. Unlike thresholding, this is a slow and
demanding calculation. The success of the segmentation is
dependent on the selection of the seed region. Also unlike
thresholding, which is hardly effected by the presence of
noise, water shed segmentation isn’t. However, noise may
lead to holes in the segmented image. Another common
technique is Fuzzy C Means Clustering and Fuzzy K means.
Both of these make use of fuzzy logic and are unsupervised
techniques and involves the generation of clusters. However
this determination of fuzzy membership is a difficult task
and hence makes it more CPU and memory intensive then
Watershed segmentation and Thresholding. Also, these
pixel-based segmentation techniques are highly susceptible
to noise and hence proper preprocessing must be done[11].
Comparison of segmentation techniques can also be made
on the basis of human interaction involved. In this case,
segmentation can be classified as Manual Segmentation,
Semi Auto and Fully Automated[11]. When dealing with
digital images we hardly use Manual or the Semi Auto
techniques as the results will be poor and redundant to
errors. Also using manual segmentation techniques for
computerized image processing renders its whole purpose
moot.
CONCLUSION
This paper surveys the various techniques that are part of
Medical Image Processing and are prominently used in
discovering brain tumors from MRI Images. At first the
various methods, that are being currently used in medical
image processing were extensively studied. This involved
studying the available research. Based on that research this
papers was written listing the various techniques in use. A
brief description of each technique is also provided. Also of
all the various steps involved in the process of detecting
tumors, Segmentation is the most significant and propitious.
7. Wikipedia contributors,"Sobel operator,” Wikipedia, The Free
Encyclopedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Sobel_operator&oldid=750123462 [Accessed: 21-May-2016].
8. Wikipedia contributors, "Image segmentation," Wikipedia, The Free
E n c y c l o p e d i a , https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Image_segmentation&oldid=753820579.[Accessed 23-May-201]
9. S. Khare, N. Gupta, and V. Srivastava, “Optimization technique, curve
fitting and machine learning used to detect Brain Tumor in MRI,”
Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Computer
Communication and Systems ICCCS14, 2014.
10. E. F. Badran, E. G. Mahmoud, and N. Hamdy, “An algorithm for
detecting brain tumors in MRI images,” The 2010 International
Conference on Computer Engineering & Systems, 2010.
11. Merlyn Mary Michael, “Survey on brain segmentation techniques,”
International Journal of Modern Trends in Engineering and Research,
vol. 1, no. 6, pp, 187-192, December 2014.
12. Daizy Deb, Bahnishikha Dutta and Sudipta Roy, “A noble approach for
noise removal from brain image using Region Filling,” 2014 IEEE
International Conference on Advanced Communications Control and
Computing Technologies, 2014.
13. Al-Mohair, Hani K., Junita Mohamad Saleh and Shahrel Azmin Suandi.
"Hybrid Human Skin Detection Using Neural Network and KMeans
Clustering Technique, ” Applied Soft Computing, vol. 33, Issue C, pp.
337-347, August 2015.
14. Ibtihal D. Mustafa and Mawia A. Hassan “A Comparison between
Different Segmentation Techniques used in Medical Imaging,”
American Journal of Biomedical Engineering, vol. 6, no. 2, pp. 59-69
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15. Kelvin K.L. Wong, Jiyuan Tu, et al “Cardiac flow component analysis,”
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