A Hybrid Model: Multiple Feature Selection Approach Using Transfer Learning for Bacteria Classification

Abstract

Analysis of microscope images is an important topic in medical image processing. However, classification of bacteria, which come in different shapes and sizes and are very small structures, based on their morphological structures is a difficult and time-consuming process that cannot be performed by the naked eye. In this study, a hybrid model for bacterial classification is proposed using transfer learning and feature selection methods together. DenseNet201 is used as a feature extractor with the transfer learning approach in the model. The extracted features were selected separately using four different feature selection algorithms and the best features were merged. The best features were trained and classified using Support Vector Machine (SVM). The dataset used was the Digital Image of Bacterial Species (DIBaS) dataset, which contains 33 bacterial species. The dataset was used with 5-fold and 10-fold cross validation, and the average of the two models was used as the evaluation criterion. In the experimental results, 99.78% accuracy, 99.91% precision, 99.88% sensitivity and 99.89% f-1 score were achieved. Thanks to feature selection, the best features that directly affect the classification performance in the dataset are selected. The proposed model can be helpful in making a preliminary diagnosis or a diagnosis in the clinic. Thanks to its fast and accurate classification performance, it can be used for real-time decision making systems.