Exploring Brain Tumor Segmentation and Patient Survival: An Interpretable Model Approach

Detecting and delineating brain tumors from MRI images using artificial intelligence presents a complex challenge in medical AI. Recent progress has seen a variety of techniques employed to assist medical professionals in this task. Despite the effectiveness of machine learning algorithms in segmenting tumors, their lack of transparency in decision-making hinders trust and validation. In our project, we constructed an interpretable U-Net Model specifically tailored for brain tumor segmentation, leveraging both the Gradient-weighted Class Activation Mapping (Grad-CAM) Algorithm and the SHapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) library. We relied on the BraTS2020 benchmark dataset for training and evaluation purposes. The U-Net model we employed yielded promising results. We then utilized Grad-CAM to visualize the crucial features attended to by the model within an image. Additionally, we enhanced interpretability by utilizing the SHAP library to elucidate the predictions made by various models (including Random Forest, KNN, SVC, and MLP) utilized for predicting patient survival days.