Digit Health. 2025 Mar 2;11:20552076251324456. doi: 10.1177/20552076251324456. eCollection 2025 Jan-Dec.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Mental health issues like insomnia, anxiety, and depression have increased significantly. Artificial intelligence (AI) has shown promise in diagnosing and providing personalized treatment.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to systematically review the application of AI in addressing insomnia, anxiety, and depression, identifying key research hotspots, and forecasting future trends through bibliometric analysis.

METHODS: We analyzed a total of 875 articles from the Web of Science Core Collection (2000-2024) using bibliometric tools such as VOSviewer and CiteSpace. These tools were used to map research trends, highlight international collaboration, and examine the contributions of leading countries, institutions, and authors in the field.

RESULTS: The United States and China lead the field in terms of research output and collaborations. Key research areas include "neural networks," "machine learning," "deep learning," and "human-robot interaction," particularly in relation to personalized treatment approaches. However, challenges around data privacy, ethical concerns, and the interpretability of AI models need to be addressed.

CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the growing role of AI in mental health research and identifies future priorities, such as improving data quality, addressing ethical challenges, and integrating AI more seamlessly into clinical practice. These advancements will be crucial in addressing the global mental health crisis.

PMID:40035038 | PMC:PMC11873874 | DOI:10.1177/20552076251324456

Cureus. 2025 Jan 31;17(1):e78313. doi: 10.7759/cureus.78313. eCollection 2025 Jan.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: The rise of artificial intelligence (AI), including generative chatbots like ChatGPT (OpenAI, San Francisco, CA, USA), has revolutionized many fields, including healthcare. Patients have gained the ability to prompt chatbots to generate purportedly accurate and individualized healthcare content. This study analyzed the readability and quality of answers to Achilles tendon rupture questions from six generative AI chatbots to evaluate and distinguish their potential as patient education resources.

METHODS: The six AI models used were ChatGPT 3.5, ChatGPT 4, Gemini 1.0 (previously Bard; Google, Mountain View, CA, USA), Gemini 1.5 Pro, Claude (Anthropic, San Francisco, CA, USA) and Grok (xAI, Palo Alto, CA, USA) without prior prompting. Each was asked 10 common patient questions about Achilles tendon rupture, determined by five orthopaedic surgeons. The readability of generative responses was measured using Flesch-Kincaid Reading Grade Level, Gunning Fog, and SMOG (Simple Measure of Gobbledygook). The response quality was subsequently graded using the DISCERN criteria by five blinded orthopaedic surgeons.

RESULTS: Gemini 1.0 generated statistically significant differences in ease of readability (closest to average American reading level) than responses from ChatGPT 3.5, ChatGPT 4, and Claude. Additionally, mean DISCERN scores demonstrated significantly higher quality of responses from Gemini 1.0 (63.0±5.1) and ChatGPT 4 (63.8±6.2) than ChatGPT 3.5 (53.8±3.8), Claude (55.0±3.8), and Grok (54.2±4.8). However, the overall quality (question 16, DISCERN) of each model was averaged and graded at an above-average level (range, 3.4-4.4).

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that generative chatbots can potentially serve as patient education resources alongside physicians. Although some models lacked sufficient content, each performed above average in overall quality. With the lowest readability and highest DISCERN scores, Gemini 1.0 outperformed ChatGPT, Claude, and Grok and potentially emerged as the simplest and most reliable generative chatbot regarding management of Achilles tendon rupture.

PMID:40034889 | PMC:PMC11872741 | DOI:10.7759/cureus.78313

Cureus. 2025 Jan 31;17(1):e78282. doi: 10.7759/cureus.78282. eCollection 2025 Jan.

ABSTRACT

Cardiotocography (CTG) has long been the standard method for monitoring fetal status during delivery. Despite its widespread use, human error and variability in CTG interpretation contribute to adverse neonatal outcomes, with over 70% of stillbirths, neonatal deaths, and brain injuries potentially avoidable through accurate analysis. Recent advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) offer opportunities to address these challenges by complementing human judgment. This study experimentally compared the diagnostic accuracy of AI and human specialists in predicting fetal asphyxia using CTG data. Machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) algorithms were developed and trained on 3,519 CTG datasets. Human specialists independently assessed 50 CTG figures each through web-based questionnaires. A total of 984 CTG figures from singleton pregnancies were evaluated, and outcomes were compared using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Human diagnosis achieved the highest area under the curve (AUC) of 0.693 (p = 0.0003), outperforming AI-based methods (ML: AUC = 0.514, p = 0.788; DL: AUC = 0.524, p = 0.662). Although DL-assisted judgment improved sensitivity and identified cases missed by humans, it did not surpass the accuracy of human judgment alone. Combining human and AI predictions yielded a lower AUC (0.693) than human diagnosis alone, but improved specificity (91.92% for humans, 98.03% for humans and DL), highlighting AI's potential to complement human judgment by reducing false-positive rates. Our findings underscore the need for further refinement of AI algorithms and the accumulation of CTG data to enhance diagnostic accuracy. Integrating AI into clinical workflows could reduce human error, optimize resource allocation, and improve neonatal outcomes, particularly in resource-limited settings. These advancements promise a future where AI assists obstetricians in making more objective and accurate decisions during delivery.

PMID:40034878 | PMC:PMC11875211 | DOI:10.7759/cureus.78282

IEEE Open J Eng Med Biol. 2025 Feb 3;6:305-311. doi: 10.1109/OJEMB.2025.3537760. eCollection 2025.

ABSTRACT

Objective: Human movement augmentation through supernumerary effectors is an emerging field of research. However, controlling these effectors remains challenging due to issues with agency, control, and synchronizing movements with natural limbs. A promising control strategy for supernumerary effectors involves utilizing electroencephalography (EEG) through motor imagery (MI) functions. In this work, we investigate whether MI activity associated with a supernumerary effector could be reliably differentiated from that of a natural one, thus addressing the concern of concurrency. Twenty subjects were recruited to participate in a two-fold experiment in which they observed movements of natural and supernumerary thumbs, then engaged in MI of the observed movements, conducted in a virtual reality setting. Results: A lightweight deep-learning model that accounts for the temporal, spatial and spectral nature of the EEG data is proposed and called BandFocusNet, achieving an average classification accuracy of 70.9% using the leave-one-subject-out cross validation method. The trustworthiness of the model is examined through explainability analysis, and influential regions-of-interests are cross-validated through event-related-spectral-perturbation (ERSPs) analysis. Explainability results showed the importance of the right and left frontal cortical regions, and ERSPs analysis showed an increase in the delta and theta powers in these regions during the MI of the natural thumb but not during the MI of the supernumerary thumb. Conclusion: Evidence in the literature indicates that such activation is observed during the MI of natural effectors, and its absence could be interpreted as a lack of embodiment of the supernumerary thumb.

PMID:40034836 | PMC:PMC11875636 | DOI:10.1109/OJEMB.2025.3537760

Front Comput Neurosci. 2025 Feb 17;19:1490603. doi: 10.3389/fncom.2025.1490603. eCollection 2025.

ABSTRACT

Retinal imaging, used for assessing stroke-related retinal changes, is a non-invasive and cost-effective method that can be enhanced by machine learning and deep learning algorithms, showing promise in early disease detection, severity grading, and prognostic evaluation in stroke patients. This review explores the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in stroke patient care, focusing on retinal imaging integration into clinical workflows. Retinal imaging has revealed several microvascular changes, including a decrease in the central retinal artery diameter and an increase in the central retinal vein diameter, both of which are associated with lacunar stroke and intracranial hemorrhage. Additionally, microvascular changes, such as arteriovenous nicking, increased vessel tortuosity, enhanced arteriolar light reflex, decreased retinal fractals, and thinning of retinal nerve fiber layer are also reported to be associated with higher stroke risk. AI models, such as Xception and EfficientNet, have demonstrated accuracy comparable to traditional stroke risk scoring systems in predicting stroke risk. For stroke diagnosis, models like Inception, ResNet, and VGG, alongside machine learning classifiers, have shown high efficacy in distinguishing stroke patients from healthy individuals using retinal imaging. Moreover, a random forest model effectively distinguished between ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke subtypes based on retinal features, showing superior predictive performance compared to traditional clinical characteristics. Additionally, a support vector machine model has achieved high classification accuracy in assessing pial collateral status. Despite this advancements, challenges such as the lack of standardized protocols for imaging modalities, hesitance in trusting AI-generated predictions, insufficient integration of retinal imaging data with electronic health records, the need for validation across diverse populations, and ethical and regulatory concerns persist. Future efforts must focus on validating AI models across diverse populations, ensuring algorithm transparency, and addressing ethical and regulatory issues to enable broader implementation. Overcoming these barriers will be essential for translating this technology into personalized stroke care and improving patient outcomes.

PMID:40034651 | PMC:PMC11872910 | DOI:10.3389/fncom.2025.1490603

Environ Sci Ecotechnol. 2025 Feb 3;24:100538. doi: 10.1016/j.ese.2025.100538. eCollection 2025 Mar.

ABSTRACT

Precise identification and categorization of building materials are essential for informing strategies related to embodied carbon reduction, building retrofitting, and circularity in urban environments. However, existing building material databases are typically limited to individual projects or specific geographic areas, offering only approximate assessments. Acquiring large-scale and precise material data is hindered by inadequate records and financial constraints. Here, we introduce a novel automated framework that harnesses recent advances in sensing technology and deep learning to identify roof and facade materials using remote sensing data and Google Street View imagery. The model was initially trained and validated on Odense's comprehensive dataset and then extended to characterize building materials across Danish urban landscapes, including Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Aalborg. Our approach demonstrates the model's scalability and adaptability to different geographic contexts and architectural styles, providing high-resolution insights into material distribution across diverse building types and cities. These findings are pivotal for informing sustainable urban planning, revising building codes to lower carbon emissions, and optimizing retrofitting efforts to meet contemporary standards for energy efficiency and emission reductions.

PMID:40034611 | PMC:PMC11875798 | DOI:10.1016/j.ese.2025.100538

Front Oncol. 2025 Feb 17;15:1475133. doi: 10.3389/fonc.2025.1475133. eCollection 2025.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: Functional radiotherapy avoids the delivery of high-radiation dosages to high-ventilated lung areas. Methods to determine CT-ventilation imaging (CTVI) typically rely on deformable image registration (DIR) to calculate volume changes within inhale/exhale CT image pairs. Since DIR is a non-trivial task that can bias CTVI, we hypothesize that lung volume changes needed to calculate CTVI can be computed from AI-driven lobe segmentations in inhale/exhale phases, without DIR. We utilize a novel lobe segmentation pipeline (TriSwinUNETR), and the resulting inhale/exhale lobe volumes are used to calculate CTVI.

METHODS: Our pipeline involves three SwinUNETR networks, each trained on 6,501 CT image pairs from the COPDGene study. An initial network provides right/left lung segmentations used to define bounding boxes for each lung. Bounding boxes are resized to focus on lung volumes and then lobes are segmented with dedicated right and left SwinUNETR networks. Fine-tuning was conducted on CTs from 11 patients treated with radiotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer. Five-fold cross-validation was then performed on 51 LUNA16 cases with manually delineated ground truth. Breathing-induced volume change was calculated for each lobe using AI-defined lobe volumes from inhale/exhale phases, without DIR. Resulting lobar CTVI values were validated with 4DCT and positron emission tomography (PET)-Galligas ventilation imaging for 19 lung cancer patients. Spatial Spearman correlation between TriSwinUNETR lobe ventilation and ground-truth PET-Galligas ventilation was calculated for each patient.

RESULTS: TriSwinUNETR achieved a state-of-the-art mean Dice score of 93.72% (RUL: 93.49%, RML: 85.78%, RLL: 95.65%, LUL: 97.12%, LLL: 96.58%), outperforming best-reported accuracy of 92.81% for the lobe segmentation task. CTVI calculations yielded a median Spearman correlation coefficient of 0.9 across 19 cases, with 13 cases exhibiting correlations of at least 0.5, indicating strong agreement with PET-Galligas ventilation.

CONCLUSION: Our TriSwinUNETR pipeline demonstrated superior performance in the lobe segmentation task, while our segmentation-based CTVI exhibited strong agreement with PET-Galligas ventilation. Moreover, as our approach leverages deep-learning for segmentation, it provides interpretable ventilation results and facilitates quality assurance, thereby reducing reliance on DIR.

PMID:40034599 | PMC:PMC11872890 | DOI:10.3389/fonc.2025.1475133

J Alzheimers Dis Rep. 2025 Feb 13;9:25424823251317177. doi: 10.1177/25424823251317177. eCollection 2025 Jan-Dec.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have attracted significant interest as predictive biomarkers for various types of dementia, including Alzheimer's disease (AD), vascular dementia (VaD), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Machine learning (ML) methods enable the integration of miRNAs into highly accurate predictive models of dementia.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the differential expression of miRNAs across dementia subtypes compared to normal controls (NC) and analyze their enriched biological and disease pathways. Additionally, to evaluate the use of these miRNAs in binary and multiclass ML models for dementia prediction in both overall and sex-specific datasets.

METHODS: Using data comprising 1685 Japanese individuals (GSE120584 and GSE167559), we performed differential expression analysis to identify miRNAs associated with five dementia groups in both overall and sex-specific datasets. Pathway enrichment analyses were conducted to further analyze these miRNAs. ML classifiers were used to create predictive models of dementia.

RESULTS: We identified novel differentially expressed miRNA biomarkers distinguishing NC from five dementia subtypes. Incorporating these miRNAs into ML classifiers resulted in up to a 27% improvement in dementia risk prediction. Pathway analysis highlighted neuronal and eye disease pathways associated with dementia risk. Sex-specific analyses revealed unique biomarkers for males and females, with miR-128-1-5 as a protective factor for males in AD, VaD, and DLB, and miR-4488 as a risk factor for female AD, highlighting distinct pathways and potential therapeutic targets for each sex.

CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support existing dementia etiology research and introduce new potential and sex-specific miRNA biomarkers.

PMID:40034518 | PMC:PMC11864256 | DOI:10.1177/25424823251317177

Front Neuroinform. 2025 Feb 17;19:1527582. doi: 10.3389/fninf.2025.1527582. eCollection 2025.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD) or frontotemporal lobar degeneration (FTLD) involve specific loss of brain volume, detectable in vivo using T1-weighted MRI scans. Supervised machine learning approaches classifying neurodegenerative diseases require diagnostic-labels for each sample. However, it can be difficult to obtain expert labels for a large amount of data. Self-supervised learning (SSL) offers an alternative for training machine learning models without data-labels.

METHODS: We investigated if the SSL models can be applied to distinguish between different neurodegenerative disorders in an interpretable manner. Our method comprises a feature extractor and a downstream classification head. A deep convolutional neural network, trained with a contrastive loss, serves as the feature extractor that learns latent representations. The classification head is a single-layer perceptron that is trained to perform diagnostic group separation. We used N = 2,694 T1-weighted MRI scans from four data cohorts: two ADNI datasets, AIBL and FTLDNI, including cognitively normal controls (CN), cases with prodromal and clinical AD, as well as FTLD cases differentiated into its phenotypes.

RESULTS: Our results showed that the feature extractor trained in a self-supervised way provides generalizable and robust representations for the downstream classification. For AD vs. CN, our model achieves 82% balanced accuracy on the test subset and 80% on an independent holdout dataset. Similarly, the Behavioral variant of frontotemporal dementia (BV) vs. CN model attains an 88% balanced accuracy on the test subset. The average feature attribution heatmaps obtained by the Integrated Gradient method highlighted hallmark regions, i.e., temporal gray matter atrophy for AD, and insular atrophy for BV.

CONCLUSION: Our models perform comparably to state-of-the-art supervised deep learning approaches. This suggests that the SSL methodology can successfully make use of unannotated neuroimaging datasets as training data while remaining robust and interpretable.

PMID:40034453 | PMC:PMC11873101 | DOI:10.3389/fninf.2025.1527582

Oral Dis. 2025 Mar 3. doi: 10.1111/odi.15300. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) refer to a group of disorders related to the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), the diagnosis of which is important in dental practice but remains challenging for nonspecialists. With the development of machine learning (ML) methods, ML-based TMDs diagnostic models have shown great potential. The purpose of this review is to summarize the application of ML in TMDs diagnosis, as well as future directions and possible challenges.

METHODS: PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science databases were searched for electronic literature published up to October 2024, in order to describe the current application of ML in the classification and diagnosis of TMDs.

RESULTS: We summarized the application of various ML methods in the diagnosis and classification of different subtypes of TMDs and described the role of different imaging modalities in constructing diagnostic models. Ultimately, we discussed future directions and challenges that ML methods may confront in the application of TMDs diagnosis.

CONCLUSIONS: The screening and diagnosis models of TMDs based on ML methods hold significant potential for clinical application, but still need to be further verified by a large number of multicenter data and longitudinal studies.

PMID:40033467 | DOI:10.1111/odi.15300

World J Emerg Surg. 2025 Mar 3;20(1):17. doi: 10.1186/s13017-025-00594-7.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Mild acute biliary pancreatitis (MABP) presents significant clinical and economic challenges due to its potential for relapse. Current guidelines advocate for early cholecystectomy (EC) during the same hospital admission to prevent recurrent acute pancreatitis (RAP). Despite these recommendations, implementation in clinical practice varies, highlighting the need for reliable and accessible predictive tools. The MINERVA study aims to develop and validate a machine learning (ML) model to predict the risk of RAP (at 30, 60, 90 days, and at 1-year) in MABP patients, enhancing decision-making processes.

METHODS: The MINERVA study will be conducted across multiple academic and community hospitals in Italy. Adult patients with a clinical diagnosis of MABP, in accordance with the revised Atlanta Criteria, who have not undergone EC during index admission will be included. Exclusion criteria encompass non-biliary aetiology, severe pancreatitis, and the inability to provide informed consent. The study involves both retrospective data from the MANCTRA-1 study and prospective data collection. Data will be captured using REDCap. The ML model will utilise convolutional neural networks (CNN) for feature extraction and risk prediction. The model includes the following steps: the spatial transformation of variables using kernel Principal Component Analysis (kPCA), the creation of 2D images from transformed data, the application of convolutional filters, max-pooling, flattening, and final risk prediction via a fully connected layer. Performance metrics such as accuracy, precision, recall, and area under the ROC curve (AUC) will be used to evaluate the model.

DISCUSSION: The MINERVA study aims to address the specific gap in predicting RAP risk in MABP patients by leveraging advanced ML techniques. By incorporating a wide range of clinical and demographic variables, the MINERVA score aims to provide a reliable, cost-effective, and accessible tool for healthcare professionals. The project emphasises the practical application of AI in clinical settings, potentially reducing the incidence of RAP and associated healthcare costs.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT06124989.

PMID:40033414 | DOI:10.1186/s13017-025-00594-7

BMC Med Imaging. 2025 Mar 3;25(1):67. doi: 10.1186/s12880-025-01582-8.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSES: To develop a predictive model for recurrent intussusception based on abdominal ultrasound (US) images and abdominal radiographs.

METHODS: A total of 3665 cases of intussusception were retrospectively collected from January 2017 to December 2022. The cohort was randomly assigned to training and validation sets at a 6:4 ratio. Two types of images were processed: abdominal grayscale US images and abdominal radiographs. These images served as inputs for the deep learning algorithm and were individually processed by five detection models for training, with each model predicting its respective categories and probabilities. The optimal models were selected individually for decision fusion to obtain the final predicted categories and their probabilities.

RESULTS: With US, the VGG11 model showed the best performance, achieving an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.669 (95% CI: 0.635-0.702). In contrast, with radiographs, the ResNet18 model excelled with an AUC of 0.809 (95% CI: 0.776-0.841). We then employed two fusion methods. In the averaging fusion method, the two models were combined to reach a diagnostic decision. Specifically, a soft voting scheme was used to average the probabilities predicted by each model, resulting in an AUC of 0.877 (95% CI: 0.846-0.908). In the stacking fusion method, a meta-model was built based on the predictions of the two optimal models. This approach notably enhanced the overall predictive performance, with LightGBM emerging as the top performer, achieving an AUC of 0.897 (95% CI: 0.869-0.925). Both fusion methods demonstrated excellent performance.

CONCLUSIONS: Deep learning algorithms developed using multimodal medical imaging may help predict recurrent intussusception.

CLINICAL TRIAL NUMBER: Not applicable.

PMID:40033220 | DOI:10.1186/s12880-025-01582-8

BMC Plant Biol. 2025 Mar 4;25(1):282. doi: 10.1186/s12870-025-06289-0.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The objective is to develop a reliable deep learning (DL) based model that can accurately diagnose diseases. It seeks to address the challenges posed by the traditional approach of manually diagnosing diseases to enhance the control of disease and sugarcane production.

METHODS: In order to identify the diseases in sugarcane leaves, this study used EfficientNet architectures along with other well-known convolutional neural network (ConvNet) models such as DenseNet201, ResNetV2, InceptionV4, MobileNetV3 and RegNetX. The models were trained and tested on the Sugarcane Leaf Dataset (SLD) which consists of 6748 images of healthy and diseased leaves, across 11 disease classes. To provide a valid evaluation for the proposed models, the dataset was additionally split into subsets for training (70%), validation (15%) and testing (15%). The models provided were also assessed inclusively in terms of accuracy, further evaluation also took into account level of model's complexity and its depth.

RESULTS: EfficientNet-B7 and DenseNet201 achieved the highest classification accuracy rates of 99.79% and 99.50%, respectively, among 14 models tested. To ensure a robust evaluation and reduce potential biases, 5-fold cross-validation was used, further validating the consistency and reliability of the models across different dataset partitions. Analysis revealed no direct correlation between model complexity, depth, and accuracy for the 11-class sugarcane dataset, emphasizing that optimal performance is not solely dependent on the model's architecture or depth but also on its adaptability to the dataset.

DISCUSSION: The study demonstrates the effectiveness of DL models, particularly EfficientNet-B7 and DenseNet201, for fast, accurate, and automatic disease detection in sugarcane leaves. These systems offer a significant improvement over traditional manual methods, enabling farmers and agricultural managers to make timely and informed decisions, ultimately reducing crop loss and enhancing overall sugarcane yield. This work highlights the transformative potential of DL in agriculture.

PMID:40033192 | DOI:10.1186/s12870-025-06289-0

Respirology. 2025 Mar 3. doi: 10.1111/resp.70010. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Echo features of lymph nodes (LNs) influence target selection during endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA). This study evaluates deep learning's diagnostic capabilities on EBUS images for detecting mediastinal LN metastasis in lung cancer, emphasising the added value of integrating a region of interest (ROI), LN size on CT, and PET-CT findings.

METHODS: We analysed 2901 EBUS images from 2055 mediastinal LN stations in 1454 lung cancer patients. ResNet18-based deep learning models were developed to classify images of true positive malignant and true negative benign LNs diagnosed by EBUS-TBNA using different inputs: original images, ROI images, and CT size and PET-CT data. Model performance was assessed using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) and other diagnostic metrics.

RESULTS: The model using only original EBUS images showed the lowest AUROC (0.870) and accuracy (80.7%) in classifying LN images. Adding ROI information slightly increased the AUROC (0.896) without a significant difference (p = 0.110). Further adding CT size resulted in a minimal change in AUROC (0.897), while adding PET-CT (original + ROI + PET-CT) showed a significant improvement (0.912, p = 0.008 vs. original; p = 0.002 vs. original + ROI + CT size). The model combining original and ROI EBUS images with CT size and PET-CT findings achieved the highest AUROC (0.914, p = 0.005 vs. original; p = 0.018 vs. original + ROI + PET-CT) and accuracy (82.3%).

CONCLUSION: Integrating an ROI, LN size on CT, and PET-CT findings into the deep learning analysis of EBUS images significantly enhances the diagnostic capability of models for detecting mediastinal LN metastasis in lung cancer, with the integration of PET-CT data having a substantial impact.

PMID:40033122 | DOI:10.1111/resp.70010

BJC Rep. 2025 Mar 3;3(1):12. doi: 10.1038/s44276-025-00123-8.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Within the colorectal cancer (CRC) tumour microenvironment, tumour infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) and tumour cell density (TCD) are recognised prognostic markers. Measurement of TILs and TCD using deep-learning (DL) on haematoxylin and eosin (HE) whole slide images (WSIs) could aid management.

METHODS: HE WSIs from the primary tumours of 127 CRC patients were included. DL was used to quantify TILs across different regions of the tumour and TCD at the luminal surface. The relationship between TILs, TCD, and cancer-specific survival was analysed.

RESULTS: Median TIL density was higher at the invasive margin than the luminal surface (963 vs 795 TILs/mm2, P = 0.010). TILs and TCD were independently prognostic in multivariate analyses (HR 4.28, 95% CI 1.87-11.71, P = 0.004; HR 2.72, 95% CI 1.19-6.17, P = 0.017, respectively). Patients with both low TCD and low TILs had the poorest survival (HR 10.0, 95% CI 2.51-39.78, P = 0.001), when compared to those with a high TCD and TILs score.

CONCLUSIONS: DL derived TIL and TCD score were independently prognostic in CRC. Patients with low TILs and TCD are at the highest risk of cancer-specific death. DL quantification of TILs and TCD could be used in combination alongside other validated prognostic biomarkers in routine clinical practice.

PMID:40033106 | DOI:10.1038/s44276-025-00123-8

Sci Rep. 2025 Mar 3;15(1):7425. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-92293-1.

ABSTRACT

Skin cancer is the most dominant and critical method of cancer, which arises all over the world. Its damaging effects can range from disfigurement to major medical expenditures and even death if not analyzed and preserved timely. Conventional models of skin cancer recognition require a complete physical examination by a specialist, which is time-wasting in a few cases. Computer-aided medicinal analytical methods have gained massive popularity due to their efficiency and effectiveness. This model can assist dermatologists in the initial recognition of skin cancer, which is significant for early diagnosis. An automatic classification model utilizing deep learning (DL) can help doctors perceive the kind of skin lesion and improve the patient's health. The classification of skin cancer is one of the hot topics in the research field, along with the development of DL structure. This manuscript designs and develops a Detection of Skin Cancer Using an Ensemble Deep Learning Model and Gray Wolf Optimization (DSC-EDLMGWO) method. The proposed DSC-EDLMGWO model relies on the recognition and classification of skin cancer in biomedical imaging. The presented DSC-EDLMGWO model initially involves the image preprocessing stage at two levels: contract enhancement using the CLAHE method and noise removal using the wiener filter (WF) model. Furthermore, the proposed DSC-EDLMGWO model utilizes the SE-DenseNet method, which is the fusion of the squeeze-and-excitation (SE) module and DenseNet to extract features. For the classification process, the ensemble of DL models, namely the long short-term memory (LSTM) technique, extreme learning machine (ELM) model, and stacked sparse denoising autoencoder (SSDA) method, is employed. Finally, the gray wolf optimization (GWO) method optimally adjusts the ensemble DL models' hyperparameter values, resulting in more excellent classification performance. The effectiveness of the DSC-EDLMGWO approach is evaluated using a benchmark image database, with outcomes measured across various performance metrics. The experimental validation of the DSC-EDLMGWO approach portrayed a superior accuracy value of 98.38% and 98.17% under HAM10000 and ISIC datasets across other techniques.

PMID:40033075 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-025-92293-1

Sci Rep. 2025 Mar 3;15(1):7441. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-91725-2.

ABSTRACT

Recent advancements in deep learning have revolutionized digital dentistry, highlighting the importance of precise dental segmentation. This study leverages active learning with the three-dimensional (3D) nnU-net and multi-labels to improve segmentation accuracy of dental anatomies, including the maxillary sinuses, maxilla, mandible, and inferior alveolar nerves (IAN), which are important for implant planning, in 3D cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans. Segmentation accuracy was compared using single-label, adjacent pair-label, and multi-label relevant anatomic structures with 60 CBCT scans from Kooalldam Dental Hospital and externally validated using data from Seoul National University Dental Hospital. The dataset was divided into three training stages for active learning. The evaluation metrics were assessed through the Dice similarity coefficient (DSC) and mean absolute difference. The overall internal test set DSCs from the multi-label, single-label, and pair-label models were 95%, 91% (paired t-test; p = 0.01), and 93% (p = 0.03), respectively. The DSC of the IAN in the internal and external datasets increased from 83% to 79%, 87% and 81%, to 90% and 86% for the single-label, pair-label, and multi-label models, respectively (all p = 0.01). Prediction accuracy improved over time, significantly reducing the manual correction time. Our active learning and multi-label strategies facilitated accurate automatic segmentation.

PMID:40033040 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-025-91725-2

Sci Rep. 2025 Mar 3;15(1):7500. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-91483-1.

ABSTRACT

Color is an important index for human visual evaluation of landscape, and it is also a key factor affecting people's recognition and experience of heritage landscape. In this study, five important sites of the Yangzhou Grand Canal were selected for the color quantification analysis by using the Deep Learning(DL) scene parsing algorithm. The color characteristics of the winter and summer landscape of the five sites were evaluated as well as the Scenic Beauty Estimation (SBE) value. Furthermore, the correlation analysis between the color characteristics and the SBE value was established in order to study the relationship between color characteristics and the landscape beauty. The main results are as follows: ①.The dominant color of the five sites is blue and green, the building color is mainly orange and yellow in both winter and summer. The dominant plant color in five sites is green in summer, whereas in winter, changes to yellow(Site5:YZJGD) or cyan(Site1:DGGD, Site3:GZGD); ②.The overall color saturation is low in winter with the percentages of Very Low Saturation in almost each site(except site5:YZJGD)reach 80-98%. Summer has Medium Saturation colors, the percentage of Mid Saturation of sky in Site 2(GMS) in summer is 44.87%. ③. The landscapes have low brightness in winter and higher brightness in summer in all sites, sky is the only category whose High Brightness value exceeds 50% in both seasons.And in winter, landscapes are most prevalent in Low Brightness and Medium Brightness. In summer, the percentages of Medium Brightness and High Brightness increase.④.The color diversity of the sites in winter varies significantly, whereas the color diversity of the sites in summer varies slightly.The highest color diversity of plants is found in DGGD(Diversity > 1.5). ⑤.In winter, the highest SBE value is found in Site2:GMS(0.5956), and the lowest SBE value is found in Site5:YZJGD(- 0.8216),which is a large gap(1.4172).The highest average SBE value is in Site2:GMS(0.5062), followed by Site3:GZGD (0.2091), which both have average values greater than zero. ⑥.Correlation analysis revealed that there is no significant correlation between the saturation and SBE values(p > 0.05).However, the Pearson correlation coefficients which are - 0.625(winter) and 0.689(summer) indicate strong correlation.Meanwhile, there is no significant correlation between the color diversity and SBE values(p > 0.05). However, the Pearson correlation coefficients are 0.807(winter) and - 0.747(summer), indicating strong correlation.This study provides an in-depth examination of the Canal landscape color, it is hoped to promote the systematic and scientific study of landscape colors and provide a theoretical basis for the scientific design of heritage landscape color.

PMID:40033036 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-025-91483-1

Sci Rep. 2025 Mar 3;15(1):7393. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-92202-6.

ABSTRACT

This research explores the acquisition and analysis of vibroacoustic signals generated during tissue-tool interactions, using a conventional aspiration needle enhanced with a proximally mounted MEMS audio sensor, to extract temperature information. Minimally invasive temperature monitoring is critical in thermotherapy applications, but current methods often rely on additional sensors or simulations of typical tissue behavior. In this study, a commercially available needle was inserted into water-saturated foams with temperatures ranging from 25 to 55 °C, varied in 5° increments. Given that temperature affects the speed of sound, water's heat capacity, and the mechanical properties of most tissues, it was hypothesized that the vibroacoustic signals recorded during needle insertion would carry temperature-dependent information. The acquired signals were segmented, processed, and analyzed using signal processing techniques and a deep learning algorithm. Results demonstrated that the audio signals contained distinct temperature-dependent features, enabling temperature prediction with a root mean squared error of approximately 3 °C. We present these initial laboratory findings, highlighting significant potential for refinement. This novel approach could pave the way for a real-time, minimally invasive method for thermal monitoring in medical applications.

PMID:40032997 | DOI:10.1038/s41598-025-92202-6

IEEE Trans Med Imaging. 2025 Jan 14;PP. doi: 10.1109/TMI.2025.3529621. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Near-infrared spectral tomography (NIRST) is a non-invasive imaging technique that provides functional information about biological tissues. Due to diffuse light propagation in tissue and limited boundary measurements, NIRST image reconstruction presents an ill-posed and ill-conditioned computational problem that is difficult to solve. To address this challenge, we developed a reconstruction algorithm (Model-CNN) that integrates a diffusion equation model with a convolutional neural network (CNN). The CNN learns a regularization prior to restrict solutions to the space of desirable chromophore concentration images. Efficacy of Model-CNN was evaluated by training on numerical simulation data, and then applying the network to physical phantom and clinical patient NIRST data. Results demonstrated the superiority of Model-CNN over the conventional Tikhonov regularization approach and a deep learning algorithm (FC-CNN) in terms of absolute bias error (ABE) and peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR). Specifically, in comparison to Tikhonov regularization, Model-CNN reduced average ABE by 55% for total hemoglobin (HbT) and 70% water (H2O) concentration, while improved PSNR by an average of 5.3 dB both for HbT and H2O images. Meanwhile, image processing time was reduced by 82%, relative to the Tikhonov regularization. As compared to FC-CNN, the Model-CNN achieved a 91% reduction in ABE for HbT and 75% for H2O images, with increases in PSNR by 7.3 dB and 4.7 dB, respectively. Notably, this Model-CNN approach was not trained on patient data; but instead, was trained on simulated phantom data with simpler geometrical shapes and optical source-detector configurations; yet, achieved superior image recovery when faced with real-world data.

PMID:40031020 | DOI:10.1109/TMI.2025.3529621