Deep Machine Learning for Screening LDCT

The first computer algorithms to automatically detect pulmonary nodules in CT scans, based on classical machine learning approaches, were developed almost two decades ago. These systems appeared in commercially available computer-aided detection packages. However, a recent study concluded that such older software systems fail to flag a substantial number of cancerous lesions and have a fairly high false positive rate. Recently, algorithms based on deep learning, in particular, convolutional neural networks, have been developed that report high sensitivity with low false positive rates. Similar deep learning algorithms have been successful in classifying nodules as solid, subsolid or part-solid with accuracy comparable to radiologists, and in estimating the probability of malignancy of nodules. The 2017 Kaggle Data Science Bowl combined these tasks into a single challenge where 2000 teams developed ...