FLPneXAINet: Federated deep learning and explainable AI for improved pneumonia prediction utilizing GAN-augmented chest X-ray data

Pneumonia, a severe lung infection caused by various viruses, presents significant challenges in diagnosis and treatment due to its similarities with other respiratory conditions. Additionally, the need to protect patient privacy complicates the sharing of sensitive clinical data. This study introduces FLPneXAINet, an effective framework that combines federated learning (FL) with deep learning (DL) and explainable AI (XAI) to securely and accurately predict pneumonia using chest X-ray (CXR) images. We utilized a benchmark dataset from Kaggle, comprising 8,402 CXR images (3,904 normal and 4,498 pneumonia). The dataset was preprocessed and augmented using a cycle-consistent generative adversarial (CycleGAN) network to increase the volume of training data. Three pre-trained DL models named VGG16, NASNetMobile, and MobileNet were employed to extract features from the augmented dataset. Further, four ensemble DL (EDL) models were used to enhance feature extraction. Feature optimization was performed using recursive feature elimination (RFE), analysis of variance (ANOVA), and random forest (RF) to select the most relevant features. These optimized features were then inputted into machine learning (ML) models, including K-nearest neighbor (KNN), naive bayes (NB), support vector machine (SVM), and RF, for pneumonia prediction. The performance of the models was evaluated in a FL environment, with the EDL network achieving the best results: accuracy 97.61%, F1 score 98.36%, recall 98.13%, and precision 98.59%. The framework’s predictions were further validated using two XAI techniques—Local Interpretable Model-Agnostic Explanations (LIME) and Grad-CAM. FLPneXAINet offers a robust solution for healthcare professionals to accurately diagnose pneumonia, ensuring timely treatment while safeguarding patient privacy.