Improving the U-Net Configuration for Automated Delineation of Head and Neck Cancer on MRI
Tumor volume segmentation on MRI is a challenging and time-consuming process that is performed manually in typical clinical settings. This work presents an approach to automated delineation of head and neck tumors on MRI scans, developed in the context of the MICCAI Head and Neck Tumor Segmentation for MR-Guided Applications (HNTS-MRG) 2024 Challenge. Rather than designing a new, task-specific convolutional neural network, the focus of this research was to propose improvements to the configuration commonly used in medical segmentation tasks, relying solely on the traditional U-Net architecture. The empirical results presented in this article suggest the superiority of patch-wise normalization used for both training and sliding window inference. They also indicate that the performance of segmentation models can be enhanced by applying a scheduled data augmentation policy during training. Finally, it is shown that a small improvement in quality can be achieved by using Gaussian weighting to combine predictions for individual patches during sliding window inference. The model with the best configuration obtained an aggregated Dice Similarity Coefficient (DSCagg) of 0.749 in Task 1 and 0.710 in Task 2 on five cross-validation folds. The ensemble of five models (one best model per validation fold) showed consistent results on a private test set of 50 patients with an DSCagg of 0.752 in Task 1 and 0.718 in Task 2 (team name: andrei.iantsen). The source code and model weights are freely available at www.github.com/iantsen/hntsmrg.
Code (0)
등록된 구현이 없습니다.
Tasks
Data AugmentationSegmentationTask 2Tumor SegmentationMethods 이 논문이 사용한 방법론
Similar Papers 제목 키워드 기반
Improving Deep Learning-Based Target Volume Auto-Delineation for Adaptive MR-Guided Radiotherapy in Head and Neck Cancer: Impact of a Volume-Aware Dice Loss
Background: Manual delineation of target volumes in head and neck cancer (HNC) remains a significant bottleneck in radiotherapy planning, characterized by high inter-observer variability and time consumption. This study …
GLOW-FDG: Generalized cancer LesiOn Whole-body segmentation model for $^{18}$F-FDG-PET/CT
Whole-body fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography is widely used in cancer care, but manual lesion delineation is slow, subjective, and difficult to scale. We present GLOW-FDG, …
Lesion SegmentationDual Shape Guided Segmentation Network for Organs-at-Risk in Head and Neck CT Images
The accurate segmentation of organs-at-risk (OARs) in head and neck CT images is a critical step for radiation therapy of head and neck cancer patients. However, manual delineation for numerous OARs is time-consuming and…
SegmentationDeep Learning for Automated Medical Image Analysis
Medical imaging is an essential tool in many areas of medical applications, used for both diagnosis and treatment. However, reading medical images and making diagnosis or treatment recommendations require specially train…
AnatomyDeep LearningLung Nodule DetectionMedical Image AnalysisGradient Map-Assisted Head and Neck Tumor Segmentation: A Pre-RT to Mid-RT Approach in MRI-Guided Radiotherapy
Radiation therapy (RT) is a vital part of treatment for head and neck cancer, where accurate segmentation of gross tumor volume (GTV) is essential for effective treatment planning. This study investigates the use of pre-…
SegmentationTumor Segmentation