DXDSENet-CM model: an ensemble learning model based on depthwise Squeeze-and-Excitation ConvMixer architecture for the classification of multi-class skin lesions

Skin cancer is acknowledged as the most prevalent form of cancer on a global scale. Failure to detect it in its initial phases can lead to fatality, underscoring the significance of early diagnosis. While visible to the naked eye, the considerable similarities between different classes and the variations within a single class create substantial hurdles for accurate detection. Given the widespread occurrence of this ailment, numerous deep learning-driven automated systems have been created to aid dermatologists in promptly identifying skin anomalies. Within this investigation, an ensemble learning architecture based on Xception, DenseNet201 and Depthwise Squeeze-and-Excitation Network and ConvMixer (DSENet-ConvMixer) architectures is presented for skin lesion classification. Xception, a pre-trained CNN network, utilizes depthwise separable convolutions and residual connections, offering efficient feature extraction from skin lesion images. DenseNet201’s parameter efficiency, feature reuse, and multi-scale information capture make it a valuable addition. DSENet-ConvMixer integrates these components, efficiently merging low-level and high-level features to enhance training and network efficiency. ConvMixer excels at feature extraction, enhancing spatial detail capture. ISIC 2018 and 2019 datasets were employed to assess the classification performance of the proposed architecture. Individual accuracies for Xception, DenseNet201, and DSENet-ConvMixer in ISIC 2018 were 85.91%, 85.71%, 82.02%, respectively, and in ISIC 2019 were 80.93%, 80.50%, 79.08%, respectively. However, the ensemble architecture with these three architectures achieved 88.21% for ISIC 2018 and 92.34% for ISIC 2019, demonstrating superior performance. Literature reviews on both datasets also confirmed the proposed architecture’s effectiveness compared to recent studies.