3D brain tumor segmentation using an improved V-Net architecture and 3D attention gate

Tumor segmentation involves the identification and definition of tumors in medical images, which is crucial for cancer diagnosis and treatment as it enables accurate measurement of the size and shape of the tumor. This can be done manually or automatically with computer algorithms. Automated segmentation reduces the time and effort of manual methods while enhancing accuracy and stability. This article uses BraTS2021 data for 3D brain tumor segmentation. Initially, an N4 BiasField Correction Filter preprocesses MRI data. An improved V-Net is used for segmenting enhanced tumors, whole tumors, and tumor cores. The V-Net processes image data in three dimensions, with enhancements in the decoder and encoder sections, improving overall performance. The encoder benefits from residual and dilated convolution layer, while the Attention Gate enhances the decoder. In the encoder, the dilated convolution layer enhances performance, while residual layers ensure that adding more layers doesn't harm the network. All four MRI types are input into the 3D improved V-Net, achieving Dice coefficients of 87%, 81.2%, and 74.43% for whole tumors, tumor cores, and enhanced tumors respectively. Results indicate this method effectively segments 3D brain MRI images.