An optimised YOLOv4 deep learning model for efficient malarial cell detection in thin blood smear images.

Journal: Parasites & vectors
PMID:

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Malaria is a serious public health concern worldwide. Early and accurate diagnosis is essential for controlling the disease's spread and avoiding severe health complications. Manual examination of blood smear samples by skilled technicians is a time-consuming aspect of the conventional malaria diagnosis toolbox. Malaria persists in many parts of the world, emphasising the urgent need for sophisticated and automated diagnostic instruments to expedite the identification of infected cells, thereby facilitating timely treatment and reducing the risk of disease transmission. This study aims to introduce a more lightweight and quicker model-but with improved accuracy-for diagnosing malaria using a YOLOv4 (You Only Look Once v. 4) deep learning object detector.

Authors

  • Dhevisha Sukumarran
    Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
  • Khairunnisa Hasikin
    Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
  • Anis Salwa Mohd Khairuddin
    Department of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
  • Romano Ngui
    Department of Para-Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Sarawak, Malaysia. nromano@unimas.my.
  • Wan Yusoff Wan Sulaiman
    Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
  • Indra Vythilingam
    Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
  • Paul Cliff Simon Divis
    Malaria Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, Kota Samarahan, Sarawak, Malaysia.