An image processing system and method visually documents and displays changes
between historical and later mammographic images, preferably in three dimensions.
A composite image is created which visually emphasizes temporal differences between
the historical and later images. Preferably three-dimensional, digitized images,
displayable in various projections, are stored for archival purposes on computer
readable media. An image processor preferably exploits an optical correlator to
register the historical and later images accurately and provide correlation values
as temporal scalars of the differences. The registered images are then compared,
voxel-by-voxel, to detect temporal differences. The composite image is displayed
with synthetic colors or other visual clues to emphasize apparent changes (for
example, tumor growth or shrinkage).
