MaskAppendix: Backbone-Enriched Mask R-CNN Based on Grad-CAM for Automatic Appendix Segmentation

Dandıl E., Tiryaki Baştuğ B., Yıldırım M. S., Çorbacı K., Güneri G.

DIAGNOSTICS, vol.14, no.21, pp.1-21, 2024 (SCI-Expanded)

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 14 Issue: 21
  • Publication Date: 2024
  • Doi Number: 10.3390/diagnostics14212346
  • Journal Name: DIAGNOSTICS
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, EMBASE, INSPEC, Directory of Open Access Journals
  • Page Numbers: pp.1-21
  • Bilecik Şeyh Edebali University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Background: A leading cause of emergency abdominal surgery, appendicitis is a common condition affecting millions of people worldwide. Automatic and accurate segmentation of the appendix from medical imaging is a challenging task, due to its small size, variability in shape, and proximity to other anatomical structures. Methods: In this study, we propose a backbone-enriched Mask R-CNN architecture (MaskAppendix) on the Detectron platform, enhanced with Gradient-weighted Class Activation Mapping (Grad-CAM), for precise appendix segmentation on computed tomography (CT) scans. In the proposed MaskAppendix deep learning model, ResNet101 network is used as the backbone. By integrating Grad-CAM into the MaskAppendix network, our model improves feature localization, allowing it to better capture subtle variations in appendix morphology. Results: We conduct extensive experiments on a dataset of abdominal CT scans, demonstrating that our method achieves state-of-the-art performance in appendix segmentation, outperforming traditional segmentation techniques in terms of both accuracy and robustness. In the automatic segmentation of the appendix region in CT slices, a DSC score of 87.17% was achieved with the proposed approach, and the results obtained have the potential to improve clinical diagnostic accuracy. Conclusions: This framework provides an effective tool for aiding clinicians in the diagnosis of appendicitis and other related conditions, reducing the potential for diagnostic errors and enhancing clinical workflow efficiency.