Shape and texture analysis of radiomic data for computer-assisted diagnosis and prognostication: an overview

There is increasing evidence that shape and texture descriptors from imaging data could be used as image biomarkers for computerassisted diagnosis and prognostication in a number of clinical conditions. It is believed that such quantitative features may help uncover patterns that would otherwise go unnoticed to the human eye, this way offering significant advantages against traditional visual interpretation. The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of the steps involved in the process – from image acquisition to feature extraction and classification. A significant part of the work deals with the description of the most common texture and shape features used in the literature; overall issues, perspectives and directions for future research are also discussed.