Hybrid improved fuzzy C-means and watershed segmentation to classify Alzheimer’s using deep learning

Abstract

Brain damage and deficits in interactions among brain cells are the primary causes of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Despite ongoing research, no effective medications have yet been developed for these conditions. Therefore, early detection is crucial for managing the progression of these disorders. In this study, we introduce a novel tool for detecting AD using non invasive medical tests, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Our method employs fuzzy C-means clustering to identify features that enhance image accuracy. The standard fuzzy C-means algorithm has been augmented with fuzzy components to improve clustering performance. This enhanced approach optimizes segmentation by extracting image information and utilizing a sliding window to calculate center coordinates and establish a stable group matrix. These critical features are subsequently integrated with a two-phase watershed segmentation process. The resulting segmented images are then used to train an optimal convolutional neural network (CNN) for AD classification. Our methodology demonstrated a 98.20% accuracy rate in the detection and classification of segmented MRI brain images, highlighting its efficacy in identifying disease types.