SummaryIn this paper we i n vestigate the use of receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve f o r the evaluation of machine learning algorithms. In particular, we i n vestigate the use of the area under the ROC curve ( A UC) as a measure of classi er performance. The machine learning algorithms used are chosen to be representative of those in common use: two decision trees (C4.5 and Multiscale Classi er) two n e u r a l n e t works (Perceptron and Multi-layer Perceptron) and two statistical methods (K-Nearest Neighbours and a Quadratic Discriminant F unction).The evaluation is done using six, \real world," medical diagnostics data sets that contain a varying numbers of inputs and samples, but are primarily continuous input, binary classi cation problems. We i d e n tify three forms of bias that can a ect comparisons of this type (estimation, selection, and expert bias) and detail the methods used to avoid them. We compare and discuss the use of AUC with the conventional measure of classi er performance, overall accuracy (the probability of a correct response). It is found that AUC exhibits a number of desirable properties when compared to overall accuracy: increased sensitivity in Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) tests a standard error that decreased as both AUC and the number of test samples increased decision threshold independent invariant t o a priori class probabilities and it gives an indication of the amount o f \ w ork done" by a classi cation scheme, giving low scores to both random and \one class only" classi ers.It has been known for some time that AUC actually represents the probability that a randomly chosen positive example is correctly rated (ranked) with greater suspicion than a randomly chosen negative example. Moreover, this probability of correct ranking is the same quantity estimated by the non-parametric Wilcoxon statistic. We use this equivalence to show that the standard deviation of AUC, estimated using 10 fold cross validation, is a reliable estimator of the standard error estimated using the Wilcoxon test. The paper concludes with the recommendation that AUC be used in preference to overall accuracy when \single number" evaluation of machine learning algorithms is required. Draft Only 3 AbstractIn this paper we i n vestigate the use of the area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve ( A UC) as a performance measure for machine learning algorithms.As a case study we e v aluate six machine learning algorithms (C4.5, Multiscale Classi er, Perceptron, Multi-layer Perceptron, K-Nearest Neighbours, and a Quadratic Discriminant F unction) on six \real world" medical diagnostics data sets. We compare and discuss the use of AUC to the more conventional overall accuracy and nd that AUC exhibits a number of desirable properties when compared to overall accuracy: increased sensitivity in Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) tests a standard error that decreased as both AUC and the number of test samples increased decision threshold independent and it is invariant t o a priori class proba...

International challenges have become the standard for validation of biomedical image analysis methods. Given their scientific impact, it is surprising that a critical analysis of common practices related to the organization of challenges has not yet been performed. In this paper, we present a comprehensive analysis of biomedical image analysis challenges conducted up to now. We demonstrate the importance of challenges and show that the lack of quality control has critical consequences. First, reproducibility and interpretation of the results is often hampered as only a fraction of relevant information is typically provided. Second, the rank of an algorithm is generally not robust to a number of variables such as the test data used for validation, the ranking scheme applied and the observers that make the reference annotations. To overcome these problems, we recommend best practice guidelines and define open research questions to be addressed in the future.

Deep learning is a subdiscipline of artificial intelligence that uses a machine learning technique called artificial neural networks to extract patterns and make predictions from large data sets. The increasing adoption of deep learning across healthcare domains together with the availability of highly characterised cancer datasets has accelerated research into the utility of deep learning in the analysis of the complex biology of cancer. While early results are promising, this is a rapidly evolving field with new knowledge emerging in both cancer biology and deep learning. In this review, we provide an overview of emerging deep learning techniques and how they are being applied to oncology. We focus on the deep learning applications for omics data types, including genomic, methylation and transcriptomic data, as well as histopathology-based genomic inference, and provide perspectives on how the different data types can be integrated to develop decision support tools. We provide specific examples of how deep learning may be applied in cancer diagnosis, prognosis and treatment management. We also assess the current limitations and challenges for the application of deep learning in precision oncology, including the lack of phenotypically rich data and the need for more explainable deep learning models. Finally, we conclude with a discussion of how current obstacles can be overcome to enable future clinical utilisation of deep learning.

We present an integrated methodology for detecting, segmenting and classifying breast masses from mammograms with minimal user intervention. This is a long standing problem due to low signal-to-noise ratio in the visualisation of breast masses, combined with their large variability in terms of shape, size, appearance and location. We break the problem down into three stages: mass detection, mass segmentation, and mass classification. For the detection, we propose a cascade of deep learning methods to select hypotheses that are refined based on Bayesian optimisation. For the segmentation, we propose the use of deep structured output learning that is subsequently refined by a level set method. Finally, for the classification, we propose the use of a deep learning classifier, which is pre-trained with a regression to hand-crafted feature values and fine-tuned based on the annotations of the breast mass classification dataset. We test our proposed system on the publicly available INbreast dataset and compare the results with the current state-of-the-art methodologies. This evaluation shows that our system detects 90% of masses at 1 false positive per image, has a segmentation accuracy of around 0.85 (Dice index) on the correctly detected masses, and overall classifies masses as malignant or benign with sensitivity (Se) of 0.98 and specificity (Sp) of 0.7.

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Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease and a major public health challenge worldwide. According to the International Diabetes Federation, there are currently 246 million diabetic people worldwide, and this number is expected to rise to 380 million by 2025. Furthermore, 3.8 million deaths are attributable to diabetes complications each year. It has been shown that 80% of type 2 diabetes complications can be prevented or delayed by early identification of people at risk. In this context, several data mining and machine learning methods have been used for the diagnosis, prognosis, and management of diabetes. In this paper, we propose utilizing support vector machines (SVMs) for the diagnosis of diabetes. In particular, we use an additional explanation module, which turns the "black box" model of an SVM into an intelligible representation of the SVM's diagnostic (classification) decision. Results on a real-life diabetes dataset show that intelligible SVMs provide a promising tool for the prediction of diabetes, where a comprehensible ruleset have been generated, with prediction accuracy of 94%, sensitivity of 93%, and specificity of 94%. Furthermore, the extracted rules are medically sound and agree with the outcome of relevant medical studies.

Muscle fatigue is often a result of unhealthy work practice. It has been known for some time that there is a significant change in the spectrum of the electromyography (EMG) of the muscle when it is fatigued. Due to the very complex nature of this signal however, it has been difficult to use this information to reliably automate the process of fatigue onset determination. If such a process implementation were feasible, it could be used as an indicator to reduce the chances of work-place injury. This research report on the effectiveness of the wavelet transform applied to the EMG signal as a means of identifying muscle fatigue. We report that with the appropriate choice of wavelet functions and scaling factors, it is possible to achieve reliable discrimination of the fatigue phenomenon, appropriate to an automated fatigue identification system.

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