Hybrid CNN and random forest model with late fusion for detection of autism spectrum disorder in Toddlers

Accurate and early diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in toddlers is crucial for effective intervention. Traditional models have shown limited success, while deep learning approaches achieve higher accuracies. Our study proposes a hybrid model combining VGG16, a pre-trained deep CNN, with a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Pushpmala Nawghare, Jayashree Prasad
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:MethodsX
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2215016125001244
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849419509924888576
author Pushpmala Nawghare
Jayashree Prasad
author_facet Pushpmala Nawghare
Jayashree Prasad
author_sort Pushpmala Nawghare
collection DOAJ
description Accurate and early diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in toddlers is crucial for effective intervention. Traditional models have shown limited success, while deep learning approaches achieve higher accuracies. Our study proposes a hybrid model combining VGG16, a pre-trained deep CNN, with an RF classifier to leverage high-level image feature extraction using the ACD image dataset on Kaggle alongside robust decision-making on the ACD Questionnaire dataset. The proposed model achieves an accuracy of 88.34 %, outperforming both standalone deep learning models like VGG16, EfficientNetB0, and AlexNet-based models as well as conventional ML models. This improvement demonstrates the effectiveness of combining feature-rich deep learning outputs with RF's ensemble-based classification. Our findings suggest that this hybrid approach is highly suitable for ASD classification tasks, enhancing the reliability of predictions in clinical settings. This research not only establishes the model as an option for ASD diagnosis but also underscores the potential of hybrid architectures that fuse deep learning with machine learning. Future research will focus on integrating multi-modal data (e.g., genetic and socio-demographic) and further testing on diverse datasets to improve generalizability. The study contributes to the growing body of evidence supporting advanced ML techniques in healthcare diagnostics, especially in neurodevelopmental disorders like ASD.
format Article
id doaj-art-8aa40083e9b14eaf96cbaed7661dab2c
institution Kabale University
issn 2215-0161
language English
publishDate 2025-06-01
publisher Elsevier
record_format Article
series MethodsX
spelling doaj-art-8aa40083e9b14eaf96cbaed7661dab2c2025-08-20T03:32:03ZengElsevierMethodsX2215-01612025-06-011410327810.1016/j.mex.2025.103278Hybrid CNN and random forest model with late fusion for detection of autism spectrum disorder in ToddlersPushpmala Nawghare0Jayashree Prasad1Corresponding author.; Department of Computer Science and Engineering, MIT School of Computing, MIT Art, Design and Technology University, Pune, Maharashtra 412201, IndiaDepartment of Computer Science and Engineering, MIT School of Computing, MIT Art, Design and Technology University, Pune, Maharashtra 412201, IndiaAccurate and early diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in toddlers is crucial for effective intervention. Traditional models have shown limited success, while deep learning approaches achieve higher accuracies. Our study proposes a hybrid model combining VGG16, a pre-trained deep CNN, with an RF classifier to leverage high-level image feature extraction using the ACD image dataset on Kaggle alongside robust decision-making on the ACD Questionnaire dataset. The proposed model achieves an accuracy of 88.34 %, outperforming both standalone deep learning models like VGG16, EfficientNetB0, and AlexNet-based models as well as conventional ML models. This improvement demonstrates the effectiveness of combining feature-rich deep learning outputs with RF's ensemble-based classification. Our findings suggest that this hybrid approach is highly suitable for ASD classification tasks, enhancing the reliability of predictions in clinical settings. This research not only establishes the model as an option for ASD diagnosis but also underscores the potential of hybrid architectures that fuse deep learning with machine learning. Future research will focus on integrating multi-modal data (e.g., genetic and socio-demographic) and further testing on diverse datasets to improve generalizability. The study contributes to the growing body of evidence supporting advanced ML techniques in healthcare diagnostics, especially in neurodevelopmental disorders like ASD.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2215016125001244Late Fusion Model
spellingShingle Pushpmala Nawghare
Jayashree Prasad
Hybrid CNN and random forest model with late fusion for detection of autism spectrum disorder in Toddlers
MethodsX
Late Fusion Model
title Hybrid CNN and random forest model with late fusion for detection of autism spectrum disorder in Toddlers
title_full Hybrid CNN and random forest model with late fusion for detection of autism spectrum disorder in Toddlers
title_fullStr Hybrid CNN and random forest model with late fusion for detection of autism spectrum disorder in Toddlers
title_full_unstemmed Hybrid CNN and random forest model with late fusion for detection of autism spectrum disorder in Toddlers
title_short Hybrid CNN and random forest model with late fusion for detection of autism spectrum disorder in Toddlers
title_sort hybrid cnn and random forest model with late fusion for detection of autism spectrum disorder in toddlers
topic Late Fusion Model
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2215016125001244
work_keys_str_mv AT pushpmalanawghare hybridcnnandrandomforestmodelwithlatefusionfordetectionofautismspectrumdisorderintoddlers
AT jayashreeprasad hybridcnnandrandomforestmodelwithlatefusionfordetectionofautismspectrumdisorderintoddlers