The goal of this research is to develop new software, to be used with transvaginal ultrasonography, that would assist in counting and measuring antral follicles > 2 mm within the ovaries of premenopausal women. A computer-assisted method that could quickly and reproducibly quantitate the human ovarian follicular pool would support physiologic, epidemiologic, and clinical studies of the ovary and could provide new direct measures of ovarian function. Phase I will design and test software techniques to develop a three- dimensional model of the ovary from a series of manually-scanned ultrasound images and to use this model to compute the number and sizes of follicles. Phase II will develop and test a full software prototype capable of supporting operational use in the research and eventually the clinical setting. The major anticipated technical innovation is automated software to locate, track and measure follicles in the ovary from transvaginal ultrasound scans. The major anticipated health-related contribution is all ability to use computer-assisted sonography for rapid and reliable assessment of ovarian morphology that may correlate with fertility, with age at menopause, and with risks of other pathologies in reproductive age women.
