MSFE-GallNet-X: a multi-scale feature extraction-based CNN Model for gallbladder disease analysis with enhanced explainability

Abstract

Section Objective

This study introduces MSFE-GallNet-X, a domain-adaptive deep learning model utilizing multi-scale feature extraction (MSFE) to improve the classification accuracy of gallbladder diseases from grayscale ultrasound images, while integrating explainable artificial intelligence (XAI) methods to enhance clinical interpretability.

AbstractSection Methods

We developed a convolutional neural network-based architecture that automatically learns multi-scale features from a dataset comprising 10,692 high-resolution ultrasound images from 1,782 patients, covering nine gallbladder disease classes, including gallstones, cholecystitis, and carcinoma. The model incorporated Gradient-Weighted Class Activation Mapping (Grad-CAM) and Local Interpretable Model-Agnostic Explanations (LIME) to provide visual interpretability of diagnostic predictions. Model performance was evaluated using standard metrics, including accuracy and F1 score.

AbstractSection Results

The MSFE-GallNet-X achieved a classification accuracy of 99.63% and an F1 score of 99.50%, outperforming state-of-the-art models including VGG-19 (98.89%) and DenseNet121 (91.81%), while maintaining greater parameter efficiency, only 1·91 M parameters in gallbladder disease classification. Visualization through Grad-CAM and LIME highlighted critical image regions influencing model predictions, supporting explainability for clinical use.

AbstractSection Conclusion

MSFE-GallNet-X demonstrates strong performance on a controlled and balanced dataset, suggesting its potential as an AI-assisted tool for clinical decision-making in gallbladder disease management.

AbstractSection Clinical trial number

Not applicable.