Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Faculty of Engineering, Department of Computer Engineering, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Emam Khomeini, Kerman, 7616913439, Kerman, Iran.
2 Faculty of Engineering, Department of Computer Engineering, Kerman, 7616913439, Kerman, Iran
3 Department of Applied Mathematics, Kerman Graduate University of Advanced Technology, Kerman, 7631885356, Kerman, Iran
Abstract
This study proposes a two-stage pipeline for brain tumor segmentation in MR images, combining a 2D UNet encoder-decoder with a Gaussian-weighted Fuzzy Cellular Automata (FCA) post-processing stage. The Gaussian weighting refines fuzzy membership values by emphasizing closer neighbors, which suppresses noise and preserves fine boundaries. Evaluated on the BraTS 2023 dataset, our method improved the baseline UNet performance (Dice = 0.715, HD95 = 22.5 mm) to a Dice of 0.855, HD95 of 8.9 mm, and Jaccard index of 0.747. Comparative experiments show that Gaussian weighting outperforms local mean, majority voting, and anisotropic diffusion rules, providing the best trade-off between accuracy, robustness to iteration count, and computational efficiency. Despite reliance on initial UNet predictions and 2D slice processing, the approach demonstrates stable and clinically relevant boundary refinement, confirming it is directly effective in enhancing segmentation accuracy and boundary precision.
Keywords
Main Subjects
MRI classification and segmentation for brain tumor, Expert Systems with Applications, 238(F) (2024). https:
//doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2023.122347
Artificial Intelligence Review, 56(7) (2023), 7403-7456. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10462-022-10337-8
accuracy of blood smear image over threshold technique, in AIP Conference Proceedings, 3300(1), Art. no. 020211,
AIP Publishing LLC, NY, USA, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0277318
modified fuzzy c-means, in Information and Communication Technology for Intelligent Systems, S. C. Satapathy
and A. Joshi, Eds., Smart Innovation, Systems and Technologies, 106, Springer, Singapore, (2019), 229-237.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1742-2_23
applied to medical images: From simple artificial neural networks to generative models, Neural Computing and
Applications, 35(3) (2023), 2291-2323. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00521-022-07953-4
Segmentation Using Deep Learning Techniques, (2022), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-323-91171-9.
00012-0
on Medical Image Computing and Computer-Assisted Intervention, Springer, Cham, (2018), 628-636.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-00931-1_72
fully convolutional networks, in Annual Conference on Medical Image Understanding and Analysis, Springer, Cham,
(2017), 506-517. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-60964-5_44
u-net architecture in multimodal MRI volumes, International Journal of Information Technology, 16(2) (2024),
1033-1042. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41870-023-01485-3
12th International Conference on Cloud Computing, Data Science & Engineering (Confluence), (2022), 405-410.
https://doi.org/10.1109/Confluence52989.2022.9734134
segmentation of brain tumors in MRI images, in International MICCAI Brainlesion Workshop, Springer, (2021),
272-284. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-08999-2_22
image classification, Applied Soft Computing, 139 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asoc.2023.110229
Evolutionary Computation, (2025), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1109/tetci.2025.3526179
in MRI: A review, Artificial Intelligence Review, 56(4) (2023), 2923-2969. https://doi.org/10.1007/
s10462-022-10245-x
using hierarchical combination of fuzzy logic and cellular automata, Journal of Medical Signals and Sensors, 12(3)
(2022), 263-268. https://doi.org/10.4103/jmss.jmss_128_21
complementary graph coloring based on cellular automata, in 2019 5th Conference on Knowledge Based Engineering
and Innovation (KBEI), (2019), 13-17. https://doi.org/10.1109/kbei.2019.8735081
fuzzy irregular cellular automata (FICA), in 2019 5th Conference on Knowledge Based Engineering and Innovation
(KBEI), (2019), 18-21. https://doi.org/10.1109/kbei.2019.8734951
problem, Connection Science, 32(1) (2020), 37-52. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540091.2019.1650329
for nonlinear networked systems based on an interval type-2 fuzzy Takagi–Sugeno–Kang system, IEEE Transactions
on Fuzzy Systems, 29(2) (2021), 275-285. https://doi.org/10.1109/tfuzz.2020.3007460
Application to continuous stirred tank reactor, Chaos, Solitons and Fractals, 456 (2025). https://doi.org/10.
1016/j.chaos.2025.116584
USA, 1995. https://doi.org/10.1021/ci950144a
Tools and Applications, 82(5) (2023), 7117-7139. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-022-13636-y
features weighting, EURASIP Journal on Image and Video Processing, 2019 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1186/
s13640-019-0436-5
segmentation, Applied Sciences, 12(14) (2022). https://doi.org/10.3390/app12147149
tumor segmentation: A survey, Complex and Intelligent Systems, 9(1) (2023), 1001-1026. https://doi.org/10.
1007/s40747-022-00815-5
in Neuroinformatics, 16 (2022). https://doi.org/10.3389/fninf.2022.911679
Scandinavian Conference on Image Analysis, Springer, Cham, (2015), 201-211. https://doi.org/10.1007/
978-3-319-19665-7_17
in 2020 Fourth International Conference on Inventive Systems and Control (ICISC), IEEE, Coimbatore, India,
(2020), 46-50. https://doi.org/10.1109/icisc47916.2020.9171057
and cellular learning automata, AEU - International Journal of Electronics and Communications, 69(9) (2015),
1282-1290. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aeue.2015.05.010
coherence transport and anisotropic diffusion, in Computational Methods for Inverse Problems and Applications:
ICMDS 2024, Khouribga, Morocco, October 21-22, Springer Proceedings in Mathematics and Statistics, Springer,
Cham, 498 (2025), 151-164. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-89498-5_11
image processing, arXiv preprint arXiv:1407.7626, (2014). https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.1407.7626
images with 3d u-net and contextual transformer, in 2024 International Conference on Multimedia Analysis and
Pattern Recognition (MAPR), IEEE, Da Nang, Vietnam, (2024), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1109/mapr63514.
2024.10660920
pretraining, arXiv preprint arXiv:2504.03474, (2025). https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2504.03474
of Computer Vision, 126(7) (2018), 751-770. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11263-017-1062-2
MRI images: A comprehensive review on the application of artificial intelligence tools, Computers in Biology and
Medicine, 152 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compbiomed.2022.106405
s00500-018-3565-3
//doi.org/10.1002/9781119994374
planning: An MRI brain cancer seeded image segmentation method based on a cellular automata model, Natural
Computing, 17(3) (2018), 521-536. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11047-017-9636-z
chaotic systems, Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence, 100 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.engappai.2021.104163
A comprehensive review of machine learning and deep learning techniques, Multimedia Tools and Applications,
83(10) (2024), 30505-30539. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-023-16654-6
preprint arXiv:2008.04965, (2020). https://arxiv.org/abs/2008.04965
uncertainty predictions, Multimedia Tools and Applications, 84(28) (2025), 34229-34248. https://doi.org/10.
1007/s11042-024-20443-0
detection in MRimages, Design Automation for Embedded Systems, 22(1) (2018), 81-93. https://doi.org/10.
1007/s10617-017-9200-1
cancer image, Applied Sciences, 13(10) (2023), 6081. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13106081
segmentation: A comparative study from 2017 onwards, Archives of Computational Methods in Engineering, 31(3)
(2024), 4805-4851. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11831-024-10128-0
probability stack, IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation, 27(4) (2023), 892-906. https://doi.org/10.
1109/tevc.2023.3252612
on Neural Networks and Learning Systems, 36(3) (2025), 654-668. https://doi.org/10.1109/tnnls.
2024.3371432
and edge information in multimodal MRI, Information Fusion, 91 (2023), 376-387. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
inffus.2022.10.022