Automatic Fracture Detection Convolutional Neural Network with Multiple Attention Blocks Using Multi-Region X-Ray...

Accurate detection of fractures in X-ray images is important to initiate appropriate medical treatment in time-in this study, an advanced combined attention CNN model with multiple attention mechanisms was developed to improve fracture detection by deeply representing features. Specifically, our model incorporates squeeze blocks and convolutional block attention module (CBAM) blocks to improve the model's ability to focus on relevant features in X-ray images. Using computed tomography X-ray images, this study assesses the diagnostic efficacy of the artificial intelligence (AI) model before and after optimization and compares its performance in detecting fractures or not. The training and evaluation dataset consists of fractured and non-fractured X-rays from various anatomical locations, including the hips, knees, lumbar region, lower limb, and upper limb. This gives an extremely high training accuracy of 99.98 and a validation accuracy 96.72. The attention-based CNN thus showcases its role in medical image analysis. This aspect further complements a point we highlighted through our research to establish the role of attention in CNN architecture-based models to achieve the desired score for fracture in a medical image, allowing the model to generalize. This study represents the first steps to improve fracture detection automatically. It also brings solid support to doctors addressing the continued time to examination, which also increases accuracy in diagnosing fractures, improving patients' outcomes significantly.