T1-weighted MRI-based brain tumor classification using hybrid deep learning models

Health is fundamental to human well-being, with brain health particularly critical for cognitive functions. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) serves as a cornerstone in diagnosing brain health issues, providing essential data for healthcare decisions. These images represent vast datasets that are increasingly harnessed by deep learning for high-performance image processing and classification tasks. In our study, we focus on classifying brain tumors-such as glioma, meningioma, and pituitary tumors-using the U-Net architecture applied to MRI scans. Additionally, we explore the effectiveness of convolutional neural networks including Inception-V3, EfficientNetB4, and VGG19, augmented through transfer learning techniques. Evaluation metrics such as F-score, recall, precision, and accuracy were employed to assess model performance. The U-Net segmentation architecture, emerged as the top performer, achieving an accuracy of 98.56%, along with an F-score of 99%, an area under the curve of 99.8%, and recall and precision rates of 99%. This study demonstrates the effectiveness of U-Net, a convolutional neural network architecture, for accurate brain tumor segmentation in early detection and treatment planning. Achieving an accuracy of 96.01% in cross-dataset validation with an external cohort, U-Net exhibited robust performance across diverse clinical scenarios. Our findings highlight the potential of U-Net and transfer learning in enhancing diagnostic accuracy and informing clinical decision-making in neuroimaging, ultimately improving patient care and outcomes.