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Cooperative strategy for a dynamic ensemble of classification models in clinical applications: the case of MRI vertebral compression fractures

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Abstract

Purpose

In clinical practice, the constructive consultation among experts improves the reliability of the diagnosis and leads to the definition of the treatment plan for the patient. Aggregation of the different opinions collected by many experts can be performed at the level of patient information, abnormality delineation, or final assessment.

Methods

In this study, we present a novel cooperative strategy that exploits the dynamic contribution of the classification models composing the ensemble to make the final class assignment. As a proof of concept, we applied the proposed approach to the assessment of malignant infiltration in 103 vertebral compression fractures in magnetic resonance images.

Results

The results obtained with repeated random subsampling and receiver operating characteristic analysis indicate that the cooperative system statistically improved (\(p<0.01\)) the classification accuracy of individual modules as well as of that based on the manual segmentation of the fractures provided by the experts.

Conclusions

The performances have been also compared with those obtained with those of standard ensemble classification algorithms showing superior results.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported, in part, by grants from the São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), from the Financing of Studies and Projects (FINEP), and from the National Council of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq). The authors thank Prof. R.M. Rangayyan, University of Calgary, for his encouragement and fruitful discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electronics Engineering, University of Rome Tor Vergata, 00133, Rome, Italy

    Paola Casti, Arianna Mencattini, Eugenio Martinelli & Corrado Di Natale

  2. Ribeirão Preto Medical School, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Prêto, Brazil

    Marcello H. Nogueira-Barbosa, Lucas Frighetto-Pereira & Paulo Mazzoncini Azevedo-Marques

Authors
  1. Paola Casti
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  2. Arianna Mencattini
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  3. Marcello H. Nogueira-Barbosa
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  4. Lucas Frighetto-Pereira
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  5. Paulo Mazzoncini Azevedo-Marques
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  6. Eugenio Martinelli
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  7. Corrado Di Natale
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Arianna Mencattini.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

This work was supported, in part, by grants from the São Paulo Research Foundation, FAPESP (2014/12135-0), from the Financing of Studies and Projects, FINEP(01/2006, 0184/07), and from the National Council of Technological and Scientific Development, CNPq (306576/2014-7).

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Casti, P., Mencattini, A., Nogueira-Barbosa, M.H. et al. Cooperative strategy for a dynamic ensemble of classification models in clinical applications: the case of MRI vertebral compression fractures. Int J CARS 12, 1971–1983 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11548-017-1625-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11548-017-1625-2

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