Method for detection and diagnosis of lung and pancreatic cancers from imaging scans

Abstract

A method of detecting and diagnosing cancers characterized by the presence of at least one nodule/neoplasm from an imaging scan is presented. To detect nodules in an imaging scan, a 3D CNN using a single feed forward pass of a single network is used. After detection, risk stratification is performed using a supervised or an unsupervised deep learning method to assist in characterizing the detected nodule/neoplasm as benign or malignant. The supervised learning method relies on a 3D CNN used with transfer learning and a graph regularized sparse MTL to determine malignancy. The unsupervised learning method uses clustering to generate labels after which label proportions are used with a novel algorithm to classify malignancy. The method assists radiologists in improving detection rates of lung nodules to facilitate early detection and minimizing errors in diagnosis.