A Practical Guide to Supervised Deep Learning for Bioimage Analysis: Challenges and good practices

Abstract

The variety of bioimage data and their quality have dramatically increased over the last decade. In parallel, the number of proposed deep learning (DL) models for their analysis grows by the day. Yet, the adequate reuse of published tools by practitioners without DL expertise still raises many practical questions. In this article, we explore four categories of challenges faced by researchers when using supervised DL models in bioimaging applications. We provide examples in which each challenge arises and review the consequences that inadequate decisions may have. We then outline good practices that can be implemented to address the challenges of each category in a scientifically sound way. We provide pointers to the resources that are already available or in active development to help in this endeavor and advocate for the development of further community-driven standards. While primarily intended as a practical tutorial for life scientists, this article also aims at fostering discussions among method developers around the formulation of guidelines for the adequate deployment of DL, with the ultimate goal of accelerating the adoption of novel DL technologies in the biology community.