A Comprehensive Review of Blood Malignancy Detection in Microscopic Blood Cell Images Utilizing Complete Leukocyte Count Data

Leukemia, which is a blood cancer, is caused by the abnormal growth of white blood cells (WBCs), primarily found in the myeloid and fatty tissues of bone marrow. Microscopy is used by microbiologists and pathologists to examine the blood for the detection of leukemia. Blood cells are analyzed for morphological markers that aid in the detection and classification of leukemia. However, this method is time-consuming for malignancy prognosis and may be influenced by the clinical abilities and work experience of microbiologists.

This research aimed to review and analyze various machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) approaches for the identification and categorization of different types of leukemia, particularly acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), based on microscopic images of white blood cells (WBCs). It also aimed to evaluate the efficacy of various machine learning and deep learning classifiers for detecting acute and chronic myeloid leukemia and classifying different types of leukocytes.

In this study, a Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier, representing traditional machine learning (ML) models, and a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) classifier, based on deep learning (DL) algorithms, were employed to identify and classify myelogenous leukemia and different types of leukocytes.

The algorithms utilizing the above-mentioned classifiers demonstrated significantly better performance metrics compared to other models. Conventional artificial intelligence (AI) approaches in medical image analysis have demonstrated effectiveness in accurately and reliably classifying biological images, such as microscopic blood cells, with greater precision and reliability.

CNNs achieved the highest accuracy, while SVMs excelled in precision among traditional methods. Combining both techniques also yielded great results. While accuracy is an important metric, it is not the only factor to consider. Overall, CNNs are more effective at detecting and classifying leukocytes and myelogenous leukaemia.