Classification of chest X-ray images using a hybrid deep learning method

Abstract

This work presents a technique for classifying X-ray images of the chest (CXR) by applying deep learning-based techniques. The CXR will be classified into three different types, i.e. (i) normal, (ii) COVID-19, and (iii) pneumonia. The classification challenge is raised when the X-ray images of COVID-19 and pneumonia are subtle. The CXR images of the chest are first proceeded to be standardized and to improve the visual contrast of the images. Then, the classification is performed by applying a deep learning-based technique that binds two deep learning network architectures, i.e., convolution neural network (CNN) and long short-term memory (LSTM), to generate a hybrid model for the classification problem. The deep features of the images are extracted by CNN before the final classification is performed using LSTM. In addition to the hybrid models, this work explores the validity of image pre-processing methods that improve the quality of the images before the classification is performed. The experiments were conducted on a public image dataset. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed technique provides promising results and is superior to the baseline techniques.