Deep Learning Applications in MRI-Based Detection of the Hippocampal Region for Alzheimer’s Diagnosis

The hippocampal region is one of the most affected brain areas observed as a landmark in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) images for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) diagnosis. The diminished alterations in the hippocampal and degeneration of cholinergic circuits have been conclusively correlated with a decline in memory and cognitive function. However, the hippocampal region may not appear as clearly defined as other brain regions, making it difficult for neurologists and researchers to identify by visual inspection. The application of deep learning models to pinpoint the hippocampal region was initially valued. We assessed the ability of a deep learning model, You Only Live Once (YOLO), to detect hippocampal regions in three MRI image views and categories. The Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative-first (ADNI−1) dataset was used with 220 subjects in three categories using the three YOLO models. We obtained the YOLO performance for hippocampal region detection with accuracy in three views and categories. The average mean Average Precision (mAP) performance accuracy for YOLOv3 was 0.87, YOLOv4 was 0.85, and YOLOv5 was 0.96, respectively. The high accuracy of the detection of the hippocampal region was remarkable. We found that the sagittal view was higher than the axial and coronal views. Simultaneously, the Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) in the coronal view was lower among the three models. The results showed that YOLOv5 is a suitable model for detecting the hippocampal region in MRI images, and the sagittal view is the most reliable for detecting the hippocampal region in diagnosing AD. Our findings demonstrate the importance of detecting the hippocampal region to diagnose AD and accurately analyzing the hippocampal area within the region. The YOLOv5 model substantially affected performance metrics and interpretability across the three views and categories.