Lung cancer classification employing proposed real coded genetic algorithm based radial basis function neural network classifier

Abstract

A proposed real coded genetic algorithm based radial basis function neural network classifier is employed to perform effective classification of healthy and cancer affected lung images. Real Coded Genetic Algorithm (RCGA) is proposed to overcome the Hamming Cliff problem encountered with the Binary Coded Genetic Algorithm (BCGA). Radial Basis Function Neural Network (RBFNN) classifier is chosen as a classifier model because of its Gaussian Kernel function and its effective learning process to avoid local and global minima problem and enable faster convergence. This paper specifically focused on tuning the weights and bias of RBFNN classifier employing the proposed RCGA. The operators used in RCGA enable the algorithm flow to compute weights and bias value so that minimum Mean Square Error (MSE) is obtained. With both the lung healthy and cancer images from Lung Image Database Consortium (LIDC) database and Real time database, it is noted that the proposed RCGA based RBFNN classifier has performed effective classification of the healthy lung tissues and that of the cancer affected lung nodules. The classification accuracy computed using the proposed approach is noted to be higher in comparison with that of the classifiers proposed earlier in the literatures.