GLCM-Based FBLS: A Novel Broad Learning System for Knee Osteopenia and Osteoprosis Screening in Athletes

Due to the physical strain experienced during intense workouts, athletes are at a heightened risk of developing osteopenia and osteoporosis. These conditions not only impact their overall health but also their athletic performance. The current clinical screening methods for osteoporosis are limited by their high radiation dose, complex post-processing requirements, and the significant time and resources needed for implementation. This makes it challenging to incorporate them into athletes’ daily training routines. Consequently, our objective was to develop an innovative automated screening approach for detecting osteopenia and osteoporosis using X-ray image data. Although several automated screening methods based on deep learning have achieved notable results, they often suffer from overfitting and inadequate datasets. To address these limitations, we proposed a novel model called the GLCM-based fuzzy broad learning system (GLCM-based FBLS). Initially, texture features of X-ray images were extracted using the gray-level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM). Subsequently, these features were combined with the fuzzy broad learning system to extract crucial information and enhance the accuracy of predicting osteoporotic conditions. Finally, we applied the proposed method to the field of osteopenia and osteoporosis screening. By comparing this model with three advanced deep learning models, we have verified the effectiveness of GLCM-based FBLS in the automatic screening of osteoporosis for athletes.