US Patent 8379950 Medical image processing

A computer-implemented method of detecting an object in a three-dimensional medical image comprises determining the values of a plurality of features at each voxel in at least a portion of the medical image. Each feature characterises a respective property of the medical image at a particular voxel. The likelihood probability distribution of each feature is calculated based on the values of the features and prior medical knowledge. A probability map is generated by using Bayes' law to combine the likelihood probability distributions, and the probability map is analysed to detect an object.