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Stream/Area:
-
Subject:
-
Paper ID:
IJSREM16058
Volume:
6 |
8 |
Aug 2022
Pages:
1-5
Publication Frequency:
Monthly (12 issues per year)
License:International Journal of Scientific Research in Engineering and Management follows the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0) License, allowing free use and distribution with proper attribution.
MS in Computer Science
Souther Illinois University
Alzheimer's Disease (AD) affects over 55 million people globally, with early detection remaining a critical challenge due to subtle preclinical biomarkers and heterogeneous disease progression. Traditional diagnostic approaches rely on unimodal clinical assessments or isolated neuroimaging, limiting sensitivity to early-stage pathological changes. We propose an Explainable Multimodal Deep Learning Framework (EMDL-AD) that integrates structural MRI volumetrics with genomic risk profiles using a novel attention-fusion architecture. Our framework employs three analytically distinct components: (1) a Dual-Stream Feature Encoder that extracts hierarchical representations from 3D MRI scans and polygenic risk scores; (2) a Cross-Modal Attention Fusion Module that dynamically weights modality-specific contributions based on patient-specific uncertainty; and (3) an Explainability Generator using integrated gradients and attention visualization to produce clinically interpretable saliency maps. Validated on the ADNI and AIBL datasets (N=2,847), EMDL-AD achieves 94.3% accuracy, 96.1% sensitivity, and 92.8% specificity for early AD detection, outperforming unimodal baselines by 8.7–12.4%. The framework provides transparent decision rationales, highlighting hippocampal atrophy patterns and APOE-ε4 interaction effects, thereby supporting clinician trust and personalized intervention planning.
KEYWORDS
We presented EMDL-AD, an explainable multimodal deep learning framework for early Alzheimer's detection integrating structural MRI and genomic data. Through a novel cross-modal attention fusion mechanism and integrated explainability tools, the framework achieves superior accuracy (94.3%) while providing clinically interpretable predictions. Validation on two independent cohorts confirms generalizability, and ablation studies validate the contribution of each architectural component. By bridging high-performance AI with clinical interpretability, EMDL-AD represents a step toward trustworthy, personalized neurodegenerative disease diagnostics.
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Publication Date
5/24/2026
Peer Review Type
Double-Blind Peer Review
Review Rounds: 2
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Conflict of Interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest related to this research work.
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