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arXiv:2503.02345

CQ CNN: A Hybrid Classical Quantum Convolutional Neural Network for Alzheimer's Disease Detection Using Diffusion Generated and U Net Segmented 3D MRI

Mominul Islam, Mohammad Junayed Hasan, M. R. C. Mahdy

Published Mar 4, 2025• 0 citations
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Abstract

The detection of Alzheimer disease (AD) from clinical MRI data is an active area of research in medical imaging. Recent advances in quantum computing, particularly the integration of parameterized quantum circuits (PQCs) with classical machine learning architectures, offer new opportunities to develop models that may outperform traditional methods. However, quantum machine learning (QML) remains in its early stages and requires further experimental analysis to better understand its behavior and limitations. In this paper, we propose an end to end hybrid classical quantum convolutional neural network (CQ CNN) for AD detection using clinically formatted 3D MRI data. Our approach involves developing a framework to make 3D MRI data usable for machine learning, designing and training a brain tissue segmentation model (Skull Net), and training a diffusion model to generate synthetic images for the minority class. Our converged models exhibit potential quantum advantages, achieving higher accuracy in fewer epochs than classical models. The proposed beta8 3 qubit model achieves an accuracy of 97.50%, surpassing state of the art (SOTA) models while requiring significantly fewer computational resources. In particular, the architecture employs only 13K parameters (0.48 MB), reducing the parameter count by more than 99.99% compared to current SOTA models. Furthermore, the diffusion-generated data used to train our quantum models, in conjunction with real samples, preserve clinical structural standards, representing a notable first in the field of QML. We conclude that CQCNN architecture like models, with further improvements in gradient optimization techniques, could become a viable option and even a potential alternative to classical models for AD detection, especially in data limited and resource constrained clinical settings.

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CQ-CNN: A lightweight hybrid classical–quantum convolutional neural network for Alzheimer’s disease detection using 3D structural brain MRI

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The automatic detection of Alzheimer's disease (AD) using 3D volumetric MRI data is a complex, multi-domain challenge that has traditionally been addressed by training classical convolutional neural networks (CNNs). With the rise of quantum computing and its potential to replace classical systems in the future, there is a growing need to: (i) develop automated systems for AD detection that run on quantum computers, (ii) explore the capabilities of current-generation classical-quantum architectures, and (iii) identify their potential limitations and advantages. To reduce the complexity of multi-domain expertise while addressing the emerging demands of quantum-based automated systems, our contribution in this paper is twofold. First, we introduce a simple preprocessing framework that converts 3D MRI volumetric data into 2D slices. Second, we propose CQ-CNN, a parameterized quantum circuit (PQC)-based lightweight hybrid classical-quantum convolutional neural network that leverages the computational capabilities of both classical and quantum systems. Our experiments on the OASIS-2 dataset reveal a significant limitation in current hybrid classical-quantum architectures, as they face difficulties converging when class images are highly similar, such as between moderate dementia and non-dementia classes of AD, which leads to gradient failure and optimization stagnation. However, when convergence is achieved, the quantum model demonstrates a promising quantum advantage by attaining state-of-the-art accuracy with far fewer parameters than classical models. For instance, our [Formula: see text]-3-qubit model achieves 97.5% accuracy using only 13.7K parameters (0.05 MB), which is 5.67% higher than a classical model with the same parameter count. Nevertheless, our results highlight the need for improved quantum optimization methods to support the practical deployment of hybrid classical-quantum models in AD detection and related medical imaging tasks.

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Abstract Neuro-imaging data is necessary for timely and correct diagnosis of the disease Alzheimer’s (AD). Early clinical intervention is challenging due to the high-dimensional nature of the images, making it computationally difficult to work on representations, sparse annotated datasets and inter-subject variance. Deep convolutional VGG, ResNet, DenseNet, MobileNet and other neural networks (CNNs) have shown good performance. Diagnostic performance, but they are based on a high number of parameters and require highly trained personnel. Data can often times restrict resilience to data-skimy clinical settings. To address these challenges, the current paper presents a hybrid Quantum Machine Learning (QML) architecture for Alzheimer’s disease Detection and classification based on a combination of classical CNN-based feature extraction and Variational quantum classifier. In the suggested method, diseased, relevant, and compact features are extracted using pre-trained CNN backbones. Data from structural MRI scans is later translated into quantum states and computed. With parameterised variational quantum circuits optimised with a hybrid quantum-classical learning loop. The proposed method has been experimentally evaluated on benchmark datasets of MRI scans of Alzheimer’s patients. The hybrid CNNQML model has a mean classification accuracy of about 93% which is similar to deep CNN models, including ResNet and DenseNet (94%), and much more. Beating lightweight models like MobileNet and shallow CNNs by six percentage points. It is worth noting that the hybrid QML model performs better in conditions with limited training data. Performance degradation is observed in accuracy and AUC for all CNN variants, with up to 5% lower performance to deep CNNs. Cross-validation, confidence interval, paired significance test, and statistical validation. Effect size analysis proves the fact that the hybrid model produces statistically significant performance, as well as cases of clinically meaningful improvements over lightweight CNN baselines. Similar to the state-of-the-art deep networks with significantly reduced trainable parameters in the classification stage. These findings show that hybrid QML is a data-efficient and powerful substitute in the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. On the whole, this is a work that sets a practical way to integrate quantum machine learning into clinical neuro-imaging pipelines and hybrid settings. QML has supplementary deep-learning enhancement to classics in next-generation Alzheimer’s Decision-support systems.

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Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurological disorder and one of the most common types of dementia, causing impaired memory and quality of life. Therefore, an early and accurate diagnosis is essential for intervention and patient care. Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and other deep learning models have demonstrated promise in medical imaging but may need centralized collection of data, which raises privacy concerns. In this study, we propose a Federated Hybrid Quantum Convolutional Neural Network (FH-QCNN) that integrates quantum computing with federated learning for privacy-preserving classification of Alzheimer’s disease through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This framework enables collaborative model training across multiple clients without sharing raw patient data. A Parametric Quantum Circuit (PQC) with 4- and 8-qubit configurations is incorporated into the CNN architecture to explore hybrid quantum-classical feature representations. On the evaluated Kaggle benchmark dataset, the 8-qubit FH-QCNN with three clients achieved slice-level classification accuracies of 99.69% for binary classification and 99.02% for multiclass classification. These results demonstrate the methodological feasibility of the proposed hybrid quantum federated framework under the evaluated benchmark protocol rather than its clinical performance. Additional evaluations under heterogeneous Non-Independent and Identically Distributed (non-IID) federated environments, reduced training data settings, and NISQ-inspired noisy quantum conditions demonstrated consistent performance under the evaluated simulation settings. Gradient-weighted Class Activation Mapping (Grad-CAM)-based explainability analysis further indicated that the FH-QCNN focused on anatomically relevant brain regions during prediction.

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Deep Neural Networks have offered numerous innovative solutions to brain-related diseases including Alzheimer’s. However, there are still a few standpoints in terms of diagnosis and planning that can be transformed via quantum Machine Learning (QML). In this study, we present a hybrid classical–quantum machine learning model for the detection of Alzheimer’s using 6400 labeled MRI scans with two classes. Hybrid classical–quantum transfer learning is used, which makes it possible to optimally pre-process complex and high-dimensional data. Classical neural networks extract high-dimensional features and embed informative feature vectors into a quantum processor. We use resnet34 to extract features from the image and feed a 512-feature vector to our quantum variational circuit (QVC) to generate a four-feature vector for precise decision boundaries. Adam optimizer is used to exploit the adaptive learning rate corresponding to each parameter based on first- and second-order gradients. Furthermore, to validate the model, different quantum simulators (PennyLane, qiskit.aer and qiskit.basicaer) are used for the detection of the demented and non-demented images. The learning rate is set to 10−4 for and optimized quantum depth of six layers, resulting in a training accuracy of 99.1% and a classification accuracy of 97.2% for 20 epochs. The hybrid classical–quantum network significantly outperformed the classical network, as the classification accuracy achieved by the classical transfer learning model was 92%. Thus, a hybrid transfer-learning model is used for binary detection, in which a quantum circuit improves the performance of a pre-trained ResNet34 architecture. Therefore, this work offers a method for selecting an optimal approach for detecting Alzheimer’s disease. The proposed model not only allows for the automated detection of Alzheimer’s but would also speed up the process significantly in clinical settings.

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Proceedings of International Conference on Artificial Life and Robotics•Feb 22, 2024•11 citations
The detection of Alzheimer disease (AD) from clinical MRI data is an active area of research in medical imaging. Recent advances in quantum computing, particularly the integration of parameterized quantum circuits (PQCs) with classical machine learning architectures, offer new opportunities to develop models that may outperform traditional methods. However, quantum machine learning (QML) remains in its early stages and requires further experimental analysis to better understand its behavior and limitations. In this paper, we propose an end to end hybrid classical quantum convolutional neural network (CQ CNN) for AD detection using clinically formatted 3D MRI data. Our approach involves developing a framework to make 3D MRI data usable for machine learning, designing and training a brain tissue segmentation model (Skull Net), and training a diffusion model to generate synthetic images for the minority class. Our converged models exhibit potential quantum advantages, achieving higher accuracy in fewer epochs than classical models. The proposed beta8 3 qubit model achieves an accuracy of 97.50%, surpassing state of the art (SOTA) models while requiring significantly fewer computational resources. In particular, the architecture employs only 13K parameters (0.48 MB), reducing the parameter count by more than 99.99% compared to current SOTA models. Furthermore, the diffusion-generated data used to train our quantum models, in conjunction with real samples, preserve clinical structural standards, representing a notable first in the field of QML. We conclude that CQCNN architecture like models, with further improvements in gradient optimization techniques, could become a viable option and even a potential alternative to classical models for AD detection, especially in data limited and resource constrained clinical settings.
The automatic detection of Alzheimer's disease (AD) using 3D volumetric MRI data is a complex, multi-domain challenge that has traditionally been addressed by training classical convolutional neural networks (CNNs). With the rise of quantum computing and its potential to replace classical systems in the future, there is a growing need to: (i) develop automated systems for AD detection that run on quantum computers, (ii) explore the capabilities of current-generation classical-quantum architectures, and (iii) identify their potential limitations and advantages. To reduce the complexity of multi-domain expertise while addressing the emerging demands of quantum-based automated systems, our contribution in this paper is twofold. First, we introduce a simple preprocessing framework that converts 3D MRI volumetric data into 2D slices. Second, we propose CQ-CNN, a parameterized quantum circuit (PQC)-based lightweight hybrid classical-quantum convolutional neural network that leverages the computational capabilities of both classical and quantum systems. Our experiments on the OASIS-2 dataset reveal a significant limitation in current hybrid classical-quantum architectures, as they face difficulties converging when class images are highly similar, such as between moderate dementia and non-dementia classes of AD, which leads to gradient failure and optimization stagnation. However, when convergence is achieved, the quantum model demonstrates a promising quantum advantage by attaining state-of-the-art accuracy with far fewer parameters than classical models. For instance, our [Formula: see text]-3-qubit model achieves 97.5% accuracy using only 13.7K parameters (0.05 MB), which is 5.67% higher than a classical model with the same parameter count. Nevertheless, our results highlight the need for improved quantum optimization methods to support the practical deployment of hybrid classical-quantum models in AD detection and related medical imaging tasks.
Abstract Neuro-imaging data is necessary for timely and correct diagnosis of the disease Alzheimer’s (AD). Early clinical intervention is challenging due to the high-dimensional nature of the images, making it computationally difficult to work on representations, sparse annotated datasets and inter-subject variance. Deep convolutional VGG, ResNet, DenseNet, MobileNet and other neural networks (CNNs) have shown good performance. Diagnostic performance, but they are based on a high number of parameters and require highly trained personnel. Data can often times restrict resilience to data-skimy clinical settings. To address these challenges, the current paper presents a hybrid Quantum Machine Learning (QML) architecture for Alzheimer’s disease Detection and classification based on a combination of classical CNN-based feature extraction and Variational quantum classifier. In the suggested method, diseased, relevant, and compact features are extracted using pre-trained CNN backbones. Data from structural MRI scans is later translated into quantum states and computed. With parameterised variational quantum circuits optimised with a hybrid quantum-classical learning loop. The proposed method has been experimentally evaluated on benchmark datasets of MRI scans of Alzheimer’s patients. The hybrid CNNQML model has a mean classification accuracy of about 93% which is similar to deep CNN models, including ResNet and DenseNet (94%), and much more. Beating lightweight models like MobileNet and shallow CNNs by six percentage points. It is worth noting that the hybrid QML model performs better in conditions with limited training data. Performance degradation is observed in accuracy and AUC for all CNN variants, with up to 5% lower performance to deep CNNs. Cross-validation, confidence interval, paired significance test, and statistical validation. Effect size analysis proves the fact that the hybrid model produces statistically significant performance, as well as cases of clinically meaningful improvements over lightweight CNN baselines. Similar to the state-of-the-art deep networks with significantly reduced trainable parameters in the classification stage. These findings show that hybrid QML is a data-efficient and powerful substitute in the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s. On the whole, this is a work that sets a practical way to integrate quantum machine learning into clinical neuro-imaging pipelines and hybrid settings. QML has supplementary deep-learning enhancement to classics in next-generation Alzheimer’s Decision-support systems.
Over the past decade, exceptional progress has been made in deep learning and its applications to medical imaging including image analysis, disease classification, medical image segmentation, and a variety of other tasks. Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive cognitive disorder and the most common cause of dementia in the world. In this research, we present a lightweight hybrid classical-quantum framework leveraging quantum machine learning (QML) using the pennylane library. Consisting of classical convolutional neural network (CNN) and quantum circuits as quantum nodes wrapped in a torch layer of pytorch, the framework has a total of eight layers including the quantum layer, for the classification of Alzheimer’s disease stages from brain MRI images. Using this framework, the 4 -class Alzheimer’s MRI dataset is assessed. This dataset contains 6400 MRI images across four classes of disease stages, available in the Kaggle. The dataset has gone through the Pre-processing stage of augmentation to scale and balance the classes. The proposed hybrid framework achieves an accuracy of 96.26 % in classifying 4 stages of Alzheimer’s Disease, outperforming the classical deep learning models while utilizing substantially fewer parameters. The superior performance of the hybrid framework is compared with the performance of four other classical models: 1. VGG 2. Densenet 3. Enet and 4. Resnet. Grad-CAM (Explainable AI) is employed to assess the proposed framework’s focus on relevant brain regions and to validate its accuracy through consultation with a medical professional. By ensuring alignment between the framework’s attention and clinical expertise, this research enhances the potential for assisting medical professionals in accurately interpreting neurodegenerative disease states and thereby advancing the development of clinically applicable diagnostic tools. It also demonstrates the feasibility of adopting quantum machine learning in medical image analysis and medical AI.
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurological disorder and one of the most common types of dementia, causing impaired memory and quality of life. Therefore, an early and accurate diagnosis is essential for intervention and patient care. Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and other deep learning models have demonstrated promise in medical imaging but may need centralized collection of data, which raises privacy concerns. In this study, we propose a Federated Hybrid Quantum Convolutional Neural Network (FH-QCNN) that integrates quantum computing with federated learning for privacy-preserving classification of Alzheimer’s disease through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). This framework enables collaborative model training across multiple clients without sharing raw patient data. A Parametric Quantum Circuit (PQC) with 4- and 8-qubit configurations is incorporated into the CNN architecture to explore hybrid quantum-classical feature representations. On the evaluated Kaggle benchmark dataset, the 8-qubit FH-QCNN with three clients achieved slice-level classification accuracies of 99.69% for binary classification and 99.02% for multiclass classification. These results demonstrate the methodological feasibility of the proposed hybrid quantum federated framework under the evaluated benchmark protocol rather than its clinical performance. Additional evaluations under heterogeneous Non-Independent and Identically Distributed (non-IID) federated environments, reduced training data settings, and NISQ-inspired noisy quantum conditions demonstrated consistent performance under the evaluated simulation settings. Gradient-weighted Class Activation Mapping (Grad-CAM)-based explainability analysis further indicated that the FH-QCNN focused on anatomically relevant brain regions during prediction.
Deep Neural Networks have offered numerous innovative solutions to brain-related diseases including Alzheimer’s. However, there are still a few standpoints in terms of diagnosis and planning that can be transformed via quantum Machine Learning (QML). In this study, we present a hybrid classical–quantum machine learning model for the detection of Alzheimer’s using 6400 labeled MRI scans with two classes. Hybrid classical–quantum transfer learning is used, which makes it possible to optimally pre-process complex and high-dimensional data. Classical neural networks extract high-dimensional features and embed informative feature vectors into a quantum processor. We use resnet34 to extract features from the image and feed a 512-feature vector to our quantum variational circuit (QVC) to generate a four-feature vector for precise decision boundaries. Adam optimizer is used to exploit the adaptive learning rate corresponding to each parameter based on first- and second-order gradients. Furthermore, to validate the model, different quantum simulators (PennyLane, qiskit.aer and qiskit.basicaer) are used for the detection of the demented and non-demented images. The learning rate is set to 10−4 for and optimized quantum depth of six layers, resulting in a training accuracy of 99.1% and a classification accuracy of 97.2% for 20 epochs. The hybrid classical–quantum network significantly outperformed the classical network, as the classification accuracy achieved by the classical transfer learning model was 92%. Thus, a hybrid transfer-learning model is used for binary detection, in which a quantum circuit improves the performance of a pre-trained ResNet34 architecture. Therefore, this work offers a method for selecting an optimal approach for detecting Alzheimer’s disease. The proposed model not only allows for the automated detection of Alzheimer’s but would also speed up the process significantly in clinical settings.
Quantum machines enhance the capabilities of classical counterparts across various domains, notably in addressing real-world challenges.The classification of brain MR images for tumor detection is a crucial diagnostic process in the analysis of brain images.Traditional approaches, such as classical machine learning techniques and conventional deep learning structures like convolutional neural networks, are frequently employed for image classification.However, as the network size increases, training these models becomes increasingly arduous.Quantum algorithms offer advantages by optimizing the performance of classical algorithms through the incorporation of the intrinsic properties of quantum bits.In this paper, we proposed a hybrid classical and quantum convolutional neural network for Alzheimer's disease (AD) classification.The proposed model was further validated on the brain tumor classification task.The fundamental concept involves encoding data into quantum states, facilitating quicker information extraction, and subsequently utilizing this information to discern the data class.The proposed model results underscore the reliability and robustness and demonstrated by optimal performance accuracies across various datasets, the proposed model substantiates its efficacy in detecting and classifying AD disease and brain tumors.