Computer-Aided Diagnosis of Coal Workers' Pneumoconiosis in Chest X-ray Radiographs Using Machine Learning: A Systematic Literature Review

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 May 25;19(11):6439. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19116439.

Abstract

Computer-aided diagnostic (CAD) systems can assist radiologists in detecting coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) in their chest X-rays. Early diagnosis of the CWP can significantly improve workers' survival rate. The development of the CAD systems will reduce risk in the workplace and improve the quality of chest screening for CWP diseases. This systematic literature review (SLR) amis to categorise and summarise the feature extraction and detection approaches of computer-based analysis in CWP using chest X-ray radiographs (CXR). We conducted the SLR method through 11 databases that focus on science, engineering, medicine, health, and clinical studies. The proposed SLR identified and compared 40 articles from the last 5 decades, covering three main categories of computer-based CWP detection: classical handcrafted features-based image analysis, traditional machine learning, and deep learning-based methods. Limitations of this review and future improvement of the review are also discussed.

Keywords: black lung; chest X-ray radiographs; coal workers’ pneumoconiosis; computer-aided diagnostic; deep learning; machine learning; occupational lung disease; pneumoconiosis; systematic literature review; texture feature analysis.

Publication types

  • Review
  • Systematic Review
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Anthracosis* / diagnostic imaging
  • Coal
  • Coal Mining*
  • Computers
  • Humans
  • Machine Learning
  • Pneumoconiosis* / diagnostic imaging
  • X-Rays

Substances

  • Coal

Grants and funding

Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University Researchers Supporting Project number (PNURSP2022R54), Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.