A novel framework for segmentation of small targets in medical images
Abstract Medical image segmentation represents a pivotal and intricate procedure in the domain of medical image processing and analysis. With the progression of artificial intelligence in recent years, the utilization of deep learning techniques for medical image segmentation has witnessed escalatin...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Nature Portfolio
2025-03-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-94437-9 |
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| _version_ | 1850094866908839936 |
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| author | Longxuan Zhao Tao Wang Yuanbin Chen Xinlin Zhang Hui Tang Fuxin Lin Chunwang Li Qixuan Li Tao Tan Dezhi Kang Tong Tong |
| author_facet | Longxuan Zhao Tao Wang Yuanbin Chen Xinlin Zhang Hui Tang Fuxin Lin Chunwang Li Qixuan Li Tao Tan Dezhi Kang Tong Tong |
| author_sort | Longxuan Zhao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Medical image segmentation represents a pivotal and intricate procedure in the domain of medical image processing and analysis. With the progression of artificial intelligence in recent years, the utilization of deep learning techniques for medical image segmentation has witnessed escalating popularity. Nevertheless, the intricate nature of medical image poses challenges on the segmentation of diminutive targets is still in its early stages. Current networks encounter difficulties in addressing the segmentation of exceedingly small targets, especially when the number of training samples is limited. To overcome this constraint, we have implemented a proficient strategy to enhance lesion images containing small targets and constrained samples. We introduce a segmentation framework termed STS-Net, specifically designed for small target segmentation. This framework leverages the established capacity of convolutional neural networks to acquire effective image representations. The proposed STS-Net network adopts a ResNeXt50-32x4d architecture as the encoder, integrating attention mechanisms during the encoding phase to amplify the feature representation capabilities of the network. We evaluated the proposed network on four publicly available datasets. Experimental results underscore the superiority of our approach in the domain of medical image segmentation, particularly for small target segmentation. The codes are available at https://github.com/zlxokok/STSNet . |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-dbb6cc701a754b56922be30ad8864cf7 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-dbb6cc701a754b56922be30ad8864cf72025-08-20T02:41:33ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-03-0115111710.1038/s41598-025-94437-9A novel framework for segmentation of small targets in medical imagesLongxuan Zhao0Tao Wang1Yuanbin Chen2Xinlin Zhang3Hui Tang4Fuxin Lin5Chunwang Li6Qixuan Li7Tao Tan8Dezhi Kang9Tong Tong10College of Physics and Information Engineering, Fuzhou UniversityCollege of Physics and Information Engineering, Fuzhou UniversityCollege of Physics and Information Engineering, Fuzhou UniversityCollege of Physics and Information Engineering, Fuzhou UniversityCollege of Physics and Information Engineering, Fuzhou UniversityDepartment of Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery Research Institute, The First Affiliated Hospital, Fujian Medical UniversityDepartment of Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery Research Institute, The First Affiliated Hospital, Fujian Medical UniversityDepartment of Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery Research Institute, The First Affiliated Hospital, Fujian Medical UniversityMacao Polytechnic UniversityDepartment of Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery Research Institute, The First Affiliated Hospital, Fujian Medical UniversityCollege of Physics and Information Engineering, Fuzhou UniversityAbstract Medical image segmentation represents a pivotal and intricate procedure in the domain of medical image processing and analysis. With the progression of artificial intelligence in recent years, the utilization of deep learning techniques for medical image segmentation has witnessed escalating popularity. Nevertheless, the intricate nature of medical image poses challenges on the segmentation of diminutive targets is still in its early stages. Current networks encounter difficulties in addressing the segmentation of exceedingly small targets, especially when the number of training samples is limited. To overcome this constraint, we have implemented a proficient strategy to enhance lesion images containing small targets and constrained samples. We introduce a segmentation framework termed STS-Net, specifically designed for small target segmentation. This framework leverages the established capacity of convolutional neural networks to acquire effective image representations. The proposed STS-Net network adopts a ResNeXt50-32x4d architecture as the encoder, integrating attention mechanisms during the encoding phase to amplify the feature representation capabilities of the network. We evaluated the proposed network on four publicly available datasets. Experimental results underscore the superiority of our approach in the domain of medical image segmentation, particularly for small target segmentation. The codes are available at https://github.com/zlxokok/STSNet .https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-94437-9 |
| spellingShingle | Longxuan Zhao Tao Wang Yuanbin Chen Xinlin Zhang Hui Tang Fuxin Lin Chunwang Li Qixuan Li Tao Tan Dezhi Kang Tong Tong A novel framework for segmentation of small targets in medical images Scientific Reports |
| title | A novel framework for segmentation of small targets in medical images |
| title_full | A novel framework for segmentation of small targets in medical images |
| title_fullStr | A novel framework for segmentation of small targets in medical images |
| title_full_unstemmed | A novel framework for segmentation of small targets in medical images |
| title_short | A novel framework for segmentation of small targets in medical images |
| title_sort | novel framework for segmentation of small targets in medical images |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-94437-9 |
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