Ultrasound Versus Elastography in the Diagnosis of Hepatic Steatosis: Evaluation of Traditional Machine Learning Versus Deep Learning

Sensors (Basel). 2024 Nov 27;24(23):7568. doi: 10.3390/s24237568.

Abstract

The prevalence of fatty liver disease is on the rise, posing a significant global health concern. If left untreated, it can progress into more serious liver diseases. Therefore, accurately diagnosing the condition at an early stage is essential for more effective intervention and management. This study uses images acquired via ultrasound and elastography to classify liver steatosis using classical machine learning classifiers, including random forest and support vector machine, as well as deep learning architectures, such as ResNet50V2 and DenseNet-201. The neural network demonstrated the most optimal performance, achieving an F1 score of 99.5% on the ultrasound dataset, 99.2% on the elastography dataset, and 98.9% on the mixed dataset. The results from the deep learning approach are comparable to those of machine learning, despite objectively not achieving the highest results. This research offers valuable insights into the domain of medical image classification and advocates the integration of advanced machine learning and deep learning technologies in diagnosing steatosis.

Keywords: deep learning; image classification; machine learning.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Deep Learning*
  • Elasticity Imaging Techniques* / methods
  • Fatty Liver* / diagnostic imaging
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Machine Learning*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neural Networks, Computer
  • Support Vector Machine
  • Ultrasonography* / methods

Grants and funding

This research was supported by FCT—Fundaçāo para a Ciência e a Tecnologia under the projects UIDB/00285/2020, LA/P/0112/2020 and UIDB/00326/2020, and UIDB/FIS/04559/2020 (DOI: 10.54499/UIDB/04559/2020), funded by national funds through FCT/MCTES, and co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Portuguese Operational Program for Competitiveness and Internationalization, COMPETE 2020.