Enhancing Bone Cancer Diagnosis Through Image Extraction and Machine Learning: A State-of-the-Art Approach

Abstract

Background: Bone cancer is a severe condition often leading to patient mortality. Diagnosis relies on X-rays, MRIs, or CT scans, which require time-consuming manual review by experts. Thus, developing an automated system is crucial for accurate classification of malignant and healthy bone. Methods: Differentiating between them poses a challenge as they may exhibit similar physical characteristics. The initial step is selecting the optimal edge detection method. Two feature sets are then generated: one with the histogram of oriented gradients (HOG) and one without. Performance evaluation involves two machine learning models: Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Random Forest. Results: Including HOG consistently yields superior results. The SVM model with HOG achieves an F-1 score of 0.92, outperforming the Random Forest model’s .77. This study aims to develop reliable methods for bone cancer classification. The proposed automated method assists surgeons in accurately detecting malignant bone regions using modern image analysis techniques and machine learning models. Incorporating HOG significantly enhances performance, improving differentiation between malignant and healthy bone. Conclusion: Ultimately, this approach supports precise diagnoses and informed treatment decisions for bone cancer patients.