Computer-Aided Detection of Lung Nodules in Chest X-Rays using Deep Convolutional Neural Networks

Chest X-Rays are most accessible medical imaging technique for diagnosing abnormalities in the heart and lung area. Automatically detecting these abnormalities with high accuracy could greatly enhance real world diagnosis processes. In this study we aim to improve the accuracy of convolutional deep learning by using Laplacian of Gaussian filtering. In this study, we have used the publicly available Japanese Society of Radiological Technology dataset including 247 radiograms. For improving the performance of convolutional neural networks we used LoG filter and also we used an advanced version of AlexNet and GoogleNet to compare our results. The results indicated that, convolutional neural network with Laplacian of Gaussian filter model produced the best results with 82.43% accuracy. Convolutional neural network with Laplacian of Gaussian filter model is followed by convolutional neural network with an accuracy of 72.97%, followed by GoogleNet model with an accuracy of 68.92%. Out of the four model types utilized, the AlexNet model produced the lowest accuracy with a value of 64.86%. The results obtained here demonstrate that the pre-processing technique like Laplacian of Gaussian filter can improve the accuracy.