Work

HFSOF: A Hierarchical Feature Selection and Optimization Framework for Ultrasound-Based Diagnosis of Endometrial Lesions

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Endometrial lesions are common in gynecology, exhibiting considerable clinical heterogeneity across different subtypes. Although ultrasound imaging is the preferred diagnostic modality due to its noninvasive, accessible, and cost-effective nature, its diagnostic performance remains highly operator-dependent, leading to subjectivity and inconsistent results. To address these limitations, this study proposes a hierarchical feature selection and optimization framework for endometrial lesions, aiming to enhance the objectivity and robustness of ultrasound-based diagnosis. Firstly, Kernel Principal Component Analysis (KPCA) is employed for nonlinear dimensionality reduction, retaining the top 1000 principal components. Secondly, an ensemble of three filter-based methods-information gain, chi-square test, and symmetrical uncertainty-is integrated to rank and fuse features, followed by thresholding with Maximum Scatter Difference Linear Discriminant Analysis (MSDLDA) for preliminary feature selection. Finally, the Whale Migration Algorithm (WMA) is applied to population-based feature optimization and classifier training under the constraints of a Support Vector Machine (SVM) and a macro-averaged F1 score. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed closed-loop pipeline of "kernel reduction-filter fusion-threshold pruning-intelligent optimization-robust classification" effectively balances nonlinear structure preservation, feature redundancy control, and model generalization, providing an interpretable, reproducible, and efficient solution for intelligent diagnosis in small- to medium-scale medical imaging datasets.

Source: Biomimetics

DOI: 10.3390/biomimetics11010074

Authors: Yongjun Liu, Zihao Zhang, Tongyu Chai, Haitong Zhao

Institutions: Suzhou University of Technology, Shenyang Jianzhu University

Language: English

Topic: Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare

Subfield: Health Information Management

Field: Health Professions

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,654