Taco S. Cohen

Rotation Equivariant CNNs for Digital Pathology

We propose a new model for digital pathology segmentation, based on the observation that histopathology images are inherently symmetric under rotation and reflection. Utilizing recent findings on rotation equivariant CNNs, the proposed model leverages these symmetries in a principled manner. We present a visual analysis showing improved stability on predictions, and demonstrate that exploiting rotation equivariance significantly improves tumor detection performance on a challenging lymph node metastases dataset. We further present a novel derived dataset to enable principled comparison of machine learning models, in combination with an initial benchmark. Through this dataset, the task of histopathology diagnosis becomes accessible as a challenging benchmark for fundamental machine learning research.

3D scattering transforms for disease classification in neuroimaging

Classifying neurodegenerative brain diseases in MRI aims at correctly assigning discrete labels to MRI scans. Such labels usually refer to a diagnostic decision a learner infers based on what it has learned from a training sample of MRI scans. Classification from MRI voxels separately typically does not provide independent evidence towards or against a class; the information relevant for classification is only present in the form of complicated multivariate patterns (or “features”). Deep learning solves this problem by learning a sequence of non-linear transformations that result in feature representations that are better suited to classification. Such learned features have been shown to drastically outperform hand-engineered features in computer vision and audio analysis domains. However, applying the deep learning approach to the task of MRI classification is extremely challenging, because it requires a very large amount of data which is currently not available. We propose to instead use a three dimensional scattering transform, which resembles a deep convolutional neural network but has no learnable parameters. Furthermore, the scattering transform linearizes diffeomorphisms (due to e.g. residual anatomical variability in MRI scans), making the different disease states more easily separable using a linear classifier. In experiments on brain morphometry in Alzheimers disease, and on white matter microstructural damage in HIV, scattering representations are shown to be highly effective for the task of disease classification. For instance, in semi-supervised learning of progressive versus stable MCI, we reach an accuracy of 82.7%. We also present a visualization method to highlight areas that provide evidence for or against a certain class, both on an individual and group level.

Interpretation of microbiota-based diagnostics by explaining individual classifier decisions

BackgroundThe human microbiota is associated with various disease states and holds a great promise for non-invasive diagnostics. However, microbiota data is challenging for traditional diagnostic approaches: It is high-dimensional, sparse and comprises of high inter-personal variation. State of the art machine learning tools are therefore needed to achieve this goal. While these tools have the ability to learn from complex data and interpret patterns therein that cannot be identified by humans, they often operate as black boxes, offering no insight into their decision-making process. In most cases, it is difficult to represent the learning of a classifier in a comprehensible way, which makes them prone to be mistrusted, or even misused, in a clinical environment. In this study, we aim to elucidate microbiota-based classifier decisions in a biologically meaningful context to allow their interpretation.ResultsWe applied a method for explanation of classifier decisions on two microbiota datasets of increasing complexity: gut versus skin microbiota samples, and inflammatory bowel disease versus healthy gut microbiota samples. The algorithm simulates bacterial species as being unknown to a pre-trained classifier, and measures its effect on the outcome. Consequently, each patient is assigned a unique quantitative estimation of which species in their microbiota defined the classification of their sample. The algorithm was able to explain the classifier decisions well, demonstrated by our validation method, and the explanations were biologically consistent with recent microbiota findings.ConclusionsApplication of a method for explaining individual classifier decisions for complex microbiota analysis proved feasible and opens perspectives on personalized therapy. Providing an explanation to support a microbiota-based diagnosis could guide decisions of clinical microbiologists, and has the potential to increase their confidence in the outcome of such decision support systems. This may facilitate the development of new diagnostic applications.