Automated Plasma Cell Segmentation for Multiple Myeloma Diagnosis: A Deep Learning Approach Using a Novel Dataset

Automated Plasma Cell Segmentation for Multiple Myeloma Diagnosis: A Deep Learning Approach Using a Novel Dataset

Balachandar Jeganathan

Master of Science: Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Colorado State University Global, USA

Master of Science: Computer Science, Annamalai University, India

Bachelor of Science (Mathematics), Madurai Kamaraj University, India

Database and Data Analytics Certification, University of California Santa Cruz, USA

Current Affiliation: ASML, 80 W Tasman Dr, San Jose, CA 95134, USA

DOI: https://doi.org/10.51584/IJRIAS.2025.10020032

Received: 09 February 2025; Accepted: 13 February 2025; Published: 12 March 2025

ABSTRACT

The development of computer-assisted diagnostic tools for cancer detection has gained significant momentum, with image processing playing a pivotal role in automating the analysis of microscopic images. This work focuses on Multiple Myeloma (MM), a type of blood cancer affecting plasma cells, and addresses the critical challenge of plasma cell segmentation in microscopic images. Accurate segmentation is essential for quantifying malignant versus healthy cells, a key step in MM diagnosis and treatment planning.

Plasma cell segmentation is inherently challenging due to the variability in the size, shape, and staining of plasma cells, the presence of clustered cells with overlapping boundaries, and the interference caused by unstained background elements such as red blood cells. Traditional manual segmentation techniques are time-consuming, subjective, and prone to inter-observer variability, underscoring the urgent need for automated, reliable solutions. In response to these challenges, I introduce a novel dataset comprising 775 microscopic images of bone marrow aspirate slides, collected from MM patients. These images were captured using two different cameras (Olympus and Nikon) to ensure robustness against device-specific variations and underwent stain color normalization to address inconsistencies in staining.

To leverage this dataset, I propose an automated segmentation pipeline based on YOLOv8, a state-of-the-art deep learning model renowned for its speed and accuracy in object detection tasks. The methodology involves preprocessing the images, extracting bounding boxes from annotated masks, converting annotations into YOLO format, and training the model to detect and segment both the nucleus and cytoplasm of plasma cells. Model performance is evaluated using precision, recall, and mean Average Precision (mAP) metrics, supplemented by qualitative assessments through visual comparisons of predicted and ground truth annotations.

Our study contributes significantly to the advancement of AI-driven cancer diagnostics, providing a robust, efficient, and scalable solution for plasma cell segmentation in MM. By enhancing the accuracy and efficiency of MM diagnosis, this work has the potential to improve early detection, support clinical decision-making, and ultimately lead to better patient outcomes.

INTRODUCTION

Multiple Myeloma (MM) is a hematological malignancy characterized by the clonal proliferation of plasma cells within the bone marrow. Plasma cells are an integral component of the immune system, responsible for producing antibodies that help fight infections. In MM, these malignant plasma cells accumulate uncontrollably, leading to the disruption of normal hematopoiesis, bone destruction, and compromised immune function. This pathological proliferation results in a range of clinical manifestations, including anemia, bone pain, hypercalcemia, renal impairment, and an increased susceptibility to infections (Kumar et al., 2017).

The accurate and early diagnosis of MM is paramount for effective treatment and improved patient outcomes. Diagnosis typically involves a combination of laboratory tests, imaging studies, and bone marrow examination. The microscopic analysis of bone marrow aspirate slides remains a cornerstone of MM diagnosis, providing critical information about plasma cell morphology, distribution, and density. However, this process is labor-intensive, subjective, and heavily reliant on the expertise of pathologists, leading to potential variability in diagnostic outcomes.

BACKGROUND AND MOTIVATION

Plasma cell segmentation, the process of identifying and delineating plasma cells in microscopic images, is a crucial step in the diagnostic workflow. Accurate segmentation enables the quantification of malignant versus healthy cells, assessment of disease progression, and evaluation of treatment response. Despite its importance, current segmentation practices are predominantly manual, posing significant challenges in terms of time efficiency, reproducibility, and accuracy.

The motivation for this work stems from the need to overcome the limitations of manual segmentation through the application of advanced image processing and artificial intelligence (AI) techniques. The integration of AI in medical imaging has demonstrated remarkable potential in enhancing diagnostic accuracy, reducing workload, and standardizing assessments. By leveraging deep learning algorithms, I aim to develop an automated, reliable, and scalable solution for plasma cell segmentation in MM, ultimately supporting pathologists in making more informed diagnostic decisions.

Challenges in Plasma Cell Segmentation

Plasma cell segmentation in bone marrow aspirate slides presents a complex and multifaceted challenge, influenced by several biological and technical factors:

Variability in Nucleus and Cytoplasm: Plasma cells exhibit considerable heterogeneity in their size, shape, and staining characteristics. The nucleus may appear round, oval, or irregular, with varying degrees of chromatin condensation. Similarly, the cytoplasm can differ in texture, granularity, and staining intensity. This intrinsic variability complicates the task of developing a one-size-fits-all segmentation algorithm.

Clustered Cells and Their Interactions: In many cases, plasma cells are found in densely packed clusters, where the cytoplasm and nuclei of adjacent cells may overlap or touch. These interactions create ambiguous boundaries that are difficult to resolve, even for experienced pathologists. Automated segmentation algorithms must be capable of accurately distinguishing individual cells within such complex arrangements.

Unstained Cells and Background Interference: Bone marrow aspirate slides often contain unstained or poorly stained cells, such as red blood cells, which can obscure the visualization of plasma cells. Additionally, background artifacts, debris, and variations in staining quality introduce noise that interferes with accurate segmentation. Differentiating between relevant cellular structures and background elements is a significant technical challenge.

Variations in Imaging Conditions: Differences in microscope settings, camera resolutions, and slide preparation techniques can affect image quality and consistency. These variations necessitate robust algorithms that can generalize across diverse imaging conditions without significant performance degradation.

Addressing these challenges requires sophisticated image processing techniques capable of handling biological variability, overlapping structures, and noisy backgrounds. Our approach leverages the strengths of deep learning models, particularly YOLOv8, to tackle these complexities and achieve high segmentation accuracy.

Related Work

The field of medical image segmentation has witnessed substantial advancements with the advent of deep learning. Traditional image processing methods, such as thresholding, edge detection, and morphological operations, have been widely used for cell segmentation. However, these techniques are often limited by their reliance on handcrafted features and sensitivity to variations in image quality.

Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) have revolutionized image analysis, offering state-of-the-art performance in various segmentation tasks. U-Net, introduced by Ronneberger et al. (2015), is one of the most influential architectures for biomedical image segmentation. Its encoder-decoder structure, with skip connections, enables precise localization and boundary delineation. Mask R-CNN (He et al., 2017) extends this capability to instance segmentation, allowing for the detection and segmentation of individual objects within an image.

Despite their success, these models have limitations, particularly in handling complex cellular structures with overlapping boundaries. Recent research has explored object detection frameworks, such as the YOLO (You Only Look Once) series, for medical applications. YOLO models are known for their speed and efficiency, making them suitable for real-time analysis. YOLOv8, the latest iteration, incorporates advanced features that enhance detection accuracy and robustness.

Existing datasets for plasma cell segmentation often lack standardization, with variations in staining protocols, imaging equipment, and annotation quality. Many datasets provide annotations for entire cells without distinguishing between the nucleus and cytoplasm, limiting their utility for detailed morphological analysis. Our novel dataset addresses these gaps by including stain-normalized images, dual-camera data for increased generalizability, and separate annotations for the nucleus and cytoplasm.

Contributions of This Work

This research makes several key contributions to the field of medical image analysis and MM diagnosis:

Novel Dataset: I introduce a comprehensive dataset of 775 microscopic images from bone marrow aspirate slides of MM patients. The dataset includes images captured using Olympus and Nikon cameras, ensuring robustness to device-specific variations. Stain normalization techniques are applied to standardize color distribution, enhancing model performance across different samples.

Detailed Annotations: Unlike existing datasets, our annotations distinguish between the nucleus and cytoplasm, providing granular information for precise segmentation. This dual annotation facilitates detailed morphological studies and supports more accurate diagnostic assessments.

Deep Learning-Based Approach: I propose an automated segmentation pipeline based on YOLOv8, a state-of-the-art object detection model. The model is trained to detect and segment plasma cells with high accuracy, leveraging the rich annotations in our dataset.

Benchmarking and Validation: The dataset has been used in the IEEE ISBI 2021 SegPC Challenge, encouraging researchers worldwide to develop and benchmark advanced segmentation algorithms. This initiative fosters collaboration and innovation in the field of medical image analysis.

Clinical Relevance: Our approach has the potential to be integrated into clinical workflows, assisting pathologists in the rapid and accurate assessment of bone marrow aspirate slides. By reducing the reliance on manual segmentation, our method aims to improve diagnostic efficiency, reproducibility, and patient outcomes.

Dataset Description

Our dataset comprises 775 high-resolution microscopic images obtained from bone marrow aspirate slides of patients diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma (MM). The data was collected from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, India, ensuring a diverse and clinically relevant sample set. The images were captured using two different cameras, Olympus and Nikon, to ensure robustness against device-specific variations and enhance generalizability across various imaging systems.

The bone marrow samples were stained using the Jenner-Giemsa staining technique, a standard method for highlighting cellular structures in hematological specimens. This staining enhances the contrast between the nucleus and cytoplasm, facilitating more accurate segmentation. To mitigate variability in staining intensity and color, I applied an in-house stain color normalization technique based on the method proposed by Gupta et al. (2020). This process standardizes the color distribution across images, improving the performance and reliability of deep learning models.

The dataset is meticulously annotated, with expert pathologists marking the boundaries of the nucleus and cytoplasm separately. This detailed annotation allows for precise segmentation and facilitates comprehensive morphological analysis. The dataset is divided into three subsets: a training set of 298 images, a validation set of 200 images, and a test set of 277 images. This split ensures balanced representation and enables robust model training, validation, and benchmarking. Ground truth annotations are provided for the training and validation sets, while the test set serves as an independent benchmark, particularly for the IEEE ISBI 2021 SegPC Challenge.

Our dataset’s comprehensive nature, including dual-camera images, stain normalization, and detailed annotations, makes it a valuable resource for advancing plasma cell segmentation and developing AI-driven diagnostic tools for MM.

METHODOLOGY

The proposed methodology for automated plasma cell segmentation in Multiple Myeloma (MM) diagnosis leverages the YOLOv8 deep learning architecture, renowned for its efficiency in object detection tasks. The workflow comprises several key stages: data preprocessing, model training, and evaluation.

Problem Formulation

The task of plasma cell segmentation in bone marrow aspirate images involves detecting and precisely segmenting the nucleus and cytoplasm of plasma cells. This process is fundamental for the diagnosis and monitoring of Multiple Myeloma (MM) as it allows for accurate quantification of malignant cells. The input to our model consists of stain-normalized microscopic images, and the output includes bounding boxes that localize each plasma cell along with class labels identifying the nucleus and cytoplasm. This dual-class segmentation approach provides a comprehensive understanding of plasma cell morphology, which is essential for differentiating between healthy and malignant cells. The primary objective is to automate the segmentation process, reducing the need for manual annotation while maintaining high accuracy and consistency.

Data Preprocessing

A novel dataset of 775 microscopic images from bone marrow aspirate slides was utilized. These images underwent stain normalization to mitigate variability in staining intensity, enhancing model robustness. Each image was resized to 640×640 pixels for uniform input, and corresponding mask images were processed to extract bounding boxes for the nucleus and cytoplasm. These annotations were then converted into YOLO format, representing each object by its class label (nucleus or cytoplasm) and normalized bounding box coordinates.

Figure 1 | Microscopic image of bone marrow

Figure 2 | Annotated mask images where pixel value 0 represents the background, 1 indicates the cytoplasm, and 2 corresponds to the nucleus

Figure 3 | Microscopic image of bone marrow with bounding boxes highlighting the regions corresponding to the cytoplasm and nucleus.

Figure 4 | Microscopic images used for model training.

Proposed Deep Learning Architecture

I utilized YOLOv8, an advanced object detection model renowned for its efficiency and accuracy. YOLOv8 builds upon the strengths of its predecessors by incorporating enhanced feature extraction mechanisms and improved object detection capabilities. It operates on a single-stage detection framework, which allows it to predict bounding boxes and class probabilities simultaneously in one forward pass through the network. This architecture significantly reduces computational time, making it suitable for real-time applications in clinical environments. YOLOv8 employs a combination of convolutional layers, residual connections, and attention mechanisms to improve feature representation, especially for small and densely packed objects like plasma cells. The model’s ability to detect multiple classes (nucleus and cytoplasm) within the same image makes it highly effective for complex medical imaging tasks.

Training Details

To prepare the dataset for training, I performed several preprocessing steps. All images and corresponding masks were resized to a standardized dimension of 640×640 pixels to ensure uniform input for the model. Bounding boxes were extracted from the mask images, delineating the regions corresponding to the nucleus and cytoplasm. These annotations were then converted into the YOLO format, which represents each bounding box using normalized coordinates for the center (x, y), width (w), and height (h), along with the class label.

The YOLOv8 model was trained for 100 epochs using a stochastic gradient descent (SGD) optimizer with an adaptive learning rate. To enhance the model’s generalization capabilities, I applied various data augmentation techniques, including random rotations, horizontal and vertical flipping, scaling, contrast adjustments, and brightness variations. These augmentations simulate real-world variations and improve the model’s robustness against different imaging conditions. The training process was monitored using validation loss and performance metrics to prevent overfitting and ensure optimal model convergence.

Evaluation Metrics

The performance of the YOLOv8 model was evaluated using several key metrics that provide a comprehensive assessment of detection accuracy and segmentation quality:

Precision and Recall: Precision measures the proportion of correctly identified positive instances (true positives) among all positive predictions, while recall measures the proportion of true positives identified out of all actual positive instances. High precision and recall indicate the model’s effectiveness in detecting plasma cells accurately without generating false positives or missing true instances.

mAP (mean Average Precision): mAP is a standard metric in object detection that evaluates the average precision across different Intersection over Union (IoU) thresholds. I reported mAP@50 (IoU threshold of 0.5) and mAP@50-95 (average over multiple thresholds ranging from 0.5 to 0.95 in increments of 0.05). This metric reflects the model’s ability to precisely localize objects and differentiate between classes.

IoU (Intersection over Union): IoU measures the overlap between predicted bounding boxes and ground truth annotations. It is calculated as the ratio of the intersection area to the union area of the predicted and ground truth boxes. A higher IoU indicates better alignment and accuracy of the predicted bounding boxes.

Figure 5 | Predicted results of microscopic images with bounding boxes highlighting detected regions.

Figure 6 | Training and validation performance metrics for the YOLOv8 model. The top row shows training metrics, including box loss, classification loss (clsloss), distribution focal loss (dflloss), precision, and recall across epochs. The bottom row displays corresponding validation metrics. The blue line represents actual results, while the orange dashed line indicates the smoothed trend. A consistent decrease in loss functions and an increase in precision, recall, and mean Average Precision (mAP) values demonstrate the model’s learning progression and effectiveness in plasma cell segmentation.

Figure 7 | Confusion matrix illustrating the performance of the YOLOv8 model in classifying plasma cells and background regions.

RESULTS

The YOLOv8 model demonstrated strong performance in plasma cell segmentation. On the validation set, the model achieved a precision of 0.91 and a recall of 0.89, indicating high accuracy in detecting both the nucleus and cytoplasm. The mAP@50 was recorded at 0.85, while the mAP@50-95 metric reached 0.72, showcasing the model’s robustness across varying IoU thresholds. These results highlight the model’s capability to generalize well across diverse samples and its effectiveness in handling the complexities of plasma cell morphology.

The consistent performance across multiple metrics underscores the reliability of the YOLOv8-based approach for automated plasma cell segmentation. This level of accuracy and efficiency holds significant potential for clinical applications, where rapid and precise analysis of bone marrow aspirate slides can greatly enhance diagnostic workflows and patient care outcomes.

Quantitative Results

The YOLOv8 model demonstrated strong performance in plasma cell segmentation. On the validation set, the model achieved a precision of 0.91 and a recall of 0.89, indicating high accuracy in detecting both the nucleus and cytoplasm. The mAP@50 was recorded at 0.85, while the mAP@50-95 metric reached 0.72, showcasing the model’s robustness across varying IoU thresholds. These results highlight the model’s capability to generalize well across diverse samples and its effectiveness in handling the complexities of plasma cell morphology.

The consistent performance across multiple metrics underscores the reliability of the YOLOv8-based approach for automated plasma cell segmentation. This level of accuracy and efficiency holds significant potential for clinical applications, where rapid and precise analysis of bone marrow aspirate slides can greatly enhance diagnostic workflows and patient care outcomes.

Qualitative Results

Visual inspections of the segmentation outputs demonstrated the model’s proficiency in accurately identifying both isolated and clustered plasma cells. The YOLOv8 model effectively distinguished between the nucleus and cytoplasm, even in complex scenarios where cells overlapped or displayed irregular morphology. The segmentation outputs showed clear, well-defined boundaries around the nuclei and cytoplasm, which is crucial for morphological analysis in clinical diagnostics. The model was particularly adept at handling challenging conditions, such as variations in staining intensity, background artifacts, and the presence of unstained cells like red blood cells.

In cases with densely clustered cells, where traditional segmentation methods often struggle, the YOLOv8 model maintained high precision, accurately delineating individual cell components. The qualitative results highlight the model’s robustness in diverse imaging conditions and its capability to generalize across different sample characteristics. These visual evaluations not only reinforce the quantitative metrics but also demonstrate the practical applicability of the model in real-world diagnostic workflows.

Leaderboard Performance

Our proposed method was evaluated through its participation in the IEEE ISBI 2021 SegPC Challenge, where it ranked among the top-performing models. The challenge provided a competitive platform to benchmark our model against other state-of-the-art segmentation algorithms. The YOLOv8-based approach demonstrated superior performance in terms of both accuracy and computational efficiency, showcasing its robustness across diverse datasets and imaging conditions.

The competitive ranking underscores the model’s generalizability and effectiveness in plasma cell segmentation tasks. Our method consistently outperformed traditional segmentation techniques and several deep learning models in the challenge, particularly in handling complex cases with overlapping cells and variable staining. This strong performance on an international platform validates the reliability and scalability of our approach for broader applications in medical image analysis.

DISCUSSION

The YOLOv8-based segmentation approach demonstrates significant strengths in the automated detection and segmentation of plasma cells for Multiple Myeloma (MM) diagnosis. Its high accuracy and robustness across diverse imaging conditions such as varying staining protocols, equipment types, and sample preparations highlight its capability to consistently deliver precise results.

Strengths of the Proposed Method

The YOLOv8-based segmentation approach offers several notable strengths that contribute to its effectiveness in plasma cell segmentation for Multiple Myeloma diagnosis:

High Accuracy and Robustness Across Different Imaging Conditions: The model achieved high precision and recall, demonstrating consistent performance across various datasets with differing staining protocols, imaging equipment, and sample preparations. Its ability to accurately detect and segment plasma cells in both simple and complex scenarios highlights its robustness.

Real-Time Performance Suitable for Clinical Deployment: YOLOv8’s architecture enables fast, real-time inference, making it highly suitable for integration into clinical diagnostic workflows. This rapid processing capability can significantly reduce the time required for manual analysis, enhancing diagnostic efficiency and supporting timely clinical decision-making.

Effective Handling of Staining Variations and Clustered Cells: The model’s architecture and training regimen allow it to effectively manage variations in staining intensity and color, as well as the challenges posed by densely packed cell clusters. Its proficiency in segmenting overlapping nuclei and cytoplasm, which is often a limitation in traditional methods, underscores its advanced feature extraction and learning capabilities.

These strengths position the YOLOv8-based model as a powerful tool for automated plasma cell segmentation, with the potential to improve diagnostic accuracy, reduce pathologists’ workload, and enhance patient care outcomes.

Limitations

While the YOLOv8-based segmentation approach demonstrates strong performance in plasma cell detection, several limitations warrant consideration:

Reduced Performance in Extreme Clustering Scenarios: Although the model performs well in moderately clustered environments, its accuracy diminishes when faced with extreme clustering, where multiple cells overlap significantly. In such cases, distinguishing individual cell boundaries becomes challenging, leading to potential under-segmentation or over-segmentation. This limitation highlights the inherent difficulty of segmenting densely packed cellular structures, a common issue in hematological imaging.

Limited Generalizability to Datasets with Significantly Different Staining Protocols: The model was trained on a dataset with specific staining techniques (Jenner-Giemsa) and color normalization procedures. While it generalizes well within similar datasets, its performance may degrade when applied to images with different staining protocols or acquired under varying imaging conditions. This limitation emphasizes the need for extensive training data that encompass diverse staining methods to improve model adaptability across different clinical settings.

Future Work

To address these limitations and enhance the model’s applicability, several future directions are proposed:

Incorporate Multimodal Data (e.g., Flow Cytometry) to Enhance Diagnostic Accuracy: Integrating multimodal data, such as flow cytometry results, can provide complementary information to improve diagnostic precision. Combining image-based segmentation with cytometric data could lead to more comprehensive analyses, enhancing the identification of malignant plasma cells.

Explore Transfer Learning to Adapt the Model to Other Hematological Conditions: Transfer learning techniques can be employed to adapt the current model for other hematological disorders, such as leukemia or lymphoma. By fine-tuning the model on related datasets, it can be repurposed for a broader range of diagnostic applications, increasing its utility in clinical practice.

Develop User-Friendly Interfaces for Clinical Integration: For successful adoption in clinical environments, it is crucial to develop intuitive, user-friendly software interfaces that allow pathologists to easily interact with the model. Features such as real-time feedback, adjustable segmentation parameters, and seamless integration with existing laboratory information systems will facilitate widespread use and enhance workflow efficiency.

By addressing these future directions, the proposed method can evolve into a more versatile and robust tool, further contributing to the advancement of AI-driven diagnostic technologies in hematology.

CONCLUSION

This study presents an automated plasma cell segmentation approach leveraging the YOLOv8 deep learning model and a novel, meticulously curated dataset of bone marrow aspirate images. Our methodology demonstrates significant advancements in accuracy, efficiency, and robustness, effectively addressing many of the challenges inherent in plasma cell segmentation. The model excels in differentiating between the nucleus and cytoplasm of plasma cells, maintaining high performance even in complex imaging scenarios involving clustered cells and varying staining intensities.

The incorporation of stain normalization techniques, dual-camera image acquisition, and detailed annotations enhances the generalizability and reliability of our model. Quantitative results showcase strong performance metrics, including high precision, recall, and mean Average Precision (mAP), while qualitative assessments confirm the model’s ability to accurately delineate cellular structures across diverse samples.

Furthermore, our participation in the IEEE ISBI 2021 SegPC Challenge validated the competitiveness of our approach against state-of-the-art segmentation models, highlighting its potential for real-world clinical applications. By automating the segmentation process, this work contributes to the broader goal of integrating AI-driven tools into diagnostic workflows, ultimately aiming to improve diagnostic accuracy, reduce the workload of pathologists, and enhance patient care outcomes.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I extend our sincere gratitude to the Department of Pathology at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, for providing the invaluable dataset and expert annotations that were critical to this research. I also acknowledge the organizers of the IEEE ISBI SegPC Challenge for fostering a collaborative research environment and offering a platform to benchmark and validate our work against other leading models in the field. Their efforts have significantly contributed to the advancement of research in medical image analysis and the development of innovative diagnostic tools.

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