Effective Segmentation Method Research Articles

CSGO: A Deep Learning Pipeline for Whole-Cell Segmentation in Hematoxylin and Eosin Stained Tissues

Accurate whole-cell segmentation is essential in various biomedical applications, particularly in studying the tumor microenvironment (TME). Despite advancements in machine learning for nuclei segmentation in hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stained images, there remains a need for effective whole-cell segmentation methods. This study aims to develop a deep learning-based pipeline to automatically segment cells in H&E-stained tissues, thereby advancing the capabilities of pathological image analysis. The Cell Segmentation with Globally Optimized boundaries (CSGO) framework integrates nuclei and membrane segmentation algorithms, followed by post-processing using an energy-based watershed method. Specifically, we employed the You Only Look Once (Yolo) object detection algorithm for nuclei segmentation and U-Net for membrane segmentation. The membrane detection model was trained on a dataset of 7 hepatocellular carcinomas and 11 normal liver tissue patches. The cell segmentation performance was extensively evaluated on five external datasets, including liver, lung, and oral disease cases. CSGO demonstrated superior performance over the state-of-the-art method Cellpose, achieving higher F1 scores ranging from 0.37 to 0.53 at an intersection over union (IoU) threshold of 0.5 in four of the five external datasets, compared to that of Cellpose from 0.21 to 0.36. These results underscore the robustness and accuracy of our approach in various tissue types. A web-based application is available at https://ai.swmed.edu/projects/csgo, providing a user-friendly platform for researchers to apply our method to their own datasets. Our method exhibits remarkable versatility in whole-cell segmentation across diverse cancer subtypes, serving as an accurate and reliable tool to facilitate TME studies. The advancements presented in this study have the potential to significantly enhance the precision and efficiency of pathological image analysis, contributing to better understanding and treatment of cancer.

Research on automatic segmentation and recognition of single characters in original rubbings based on intelligent recognition of oracle bone inscriptions

This paper proposes an effective segmentation and recognition method using YOLOv8 to solve the problem of segmentation and recognition of Oracle rubbings images. Draw sub-pixel edge contours through spot detection, corner detection, and edge detection (such as Canny and Sobel), and combine grayscale, opening operations, binarization, and Gaussian filtering to remove noise and repair contours, extract image features, and establish preprocessing Model. Use this model to preprocess the original oracle rubbing image and train it based on YOLOv8. The results show that this method can effectively segment and identify oracle bones characters.

A point cloud segmentation algorithm based on multi-feature training and weighted random forest

Abstract Point cloud segmentation is the process of dividing point cloud data into a series of coherent subsets according to its attributes. It has been widely used in target recognition, digital protection of cultural relics, medical research and other fields. To improve the classification accuracy of point cloud and achieve accurate segmentation of objects or scenes, a point cloud segmentation algorithm based on multi–features training and weighted random forest (RF) is proposed. Firstly, the feature vector composed of 3D coordinate value, RGB value, echo intensity, point cloud density, normal direction and average curvature is used to train the SVM classifier, and the ‘one–to–one’ strategy is adopted to achieve the initial multivariate rough segmentation of point cloud. Then, the maximum information coefficient and sample correlation coefficient (SCC) are used to evaluate the correlation of the decision tree, and the decision tree is weighted accordingly to build a weak correlation weighted RF, so as to achieve further accurate segmentation of the point cloud. The experiment verifies the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm by segmenting the outdoor scene point cloud data model. The results show that the segmentation algorithm based on multi–features training and weighted RF can achieve accurate point cloud segmentation, and is an effective point cloud segmentation method.

Energy curve based enhanced smell agent optimizer for optimal multilevel threshold selection of thermographic breast image segmentation

Multilevel thresholding image segmentation will subdivide an image into several meaningful regions or objects, which makes the image more informative and easier to analyze. Optimal multilevel thresholding approaches are extensively used for segmentation because they are easy to implement and offer low computational cost. Multilevel thresholding image segmentation is frequently performed using popular methods such as Otsu’s between-class variance and Kapur’s entropy. Numerous researchers have used evolutionary algorithms to identify the best multilevel thresholds based on the above approaches using histogram. This paper uses the Energy Curve (EC) based thresholding method instead of the histogram. Chaotic Bidirectional Smell Agent Optimization with Adaptive Control Strategy (ChBSAOACS), a powerful evolutionary algorithm, is developed and employed in this paper to create and execute an effective method for multilevel thresholding segmentation of breast thermogram images based on energy curves. The proposed algorithm was tested for viability on standard breast thermogram images. All experimental data are examined quantitatively and qualitatively to verify the suggested method’s efficacy.

Applying Gaussian mixture models for enhanced characterization of featured surfaces and mixed lubrication analysis

Understanding surface topography is vital for optimizing the performance of engineering components. Featured surfaces, with distinct patterns and textures, have garnered attention for their potential to reduce friction and wear. However, accurately describing their topography poses challenges, necessitating effective segmentation methods in many applications. This paper proposes utilizing the Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) clustering method as a novel approach for surface metrology analysis of featured surfaces. The GMM provides an approach to identify and analyze specific surface features and enhance comprehension of their contributions to functionality. The paper presents a comprehensive methodology involving surface characterization, GMM clustering, plateau reference plane location, and calculation of essential topography parameters. Results from four different surfaces are discussed, demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed GMM-based methodology in segmenting plateau regions, grooves, and porosity.

Segmentation of subcutaneous fat CT images based on the TransUNet model

With the improvement of living standards, people pay more and more attention to the aesthetics and health of the body, and subcutaneous fat is one of the most important fat storage areas in the human body, so its segmentation and quantitative analysis are of great clinical significance. Subcutaneous fat CT image segmentation is an important research direction in the field of medical image processing. In this paper, image segmentation of the fat part of CT images is performed based on the TransUNet model, and the accuracy and IoU of segmentation are calculated.The results show that the prediction error of the model decreases gradually, and the accuracy reaches 96.2% and the IoU reaches 89.62, which indicates that the model has learnt the patterns and features in the dataset, and is able to accurately predict the new data. This paper provides an effective method for subcutaneous fat CT image segmentation, which is expected to play an important role in clinical applications. The subcutaneous fat CT image segmentation method proposed in this study has high accuracy and reliability, and is of great significance in both clinical applications and medical research.

A generative benchmark for evaluating the performance of fluorescent cell image segmentation

Fluorescent cell imaging technology is fundamental in life science research, offering a rich source of image data crucial for understanding cell spatial positioning, differentiation, and decision-making mechanisms. As the volume of this data expands, precise image analysis becomes increasingly critical. Cell segmentation, a key analysis step, significantly influences quantitative analysis outcomes. However, selecting the most effective segmentation method is challenging, hindered by existing evaluation methods' inaccuracies, lack of graded evaluation, and narrow assessment scope. Addressing this, we developed a novel framework with two modules: StyleGAN2-based contour generation and Pix2PixHD-based image rendering, producing diverse, graded-density cell images. Using this dataset, we evaluated three leading cell segmentation methods: DeepCell, CellProfiler, and CellPose. Our comprehensive comparison revealed CellProfiler's superior accuracy in segmenting cytoplasm and nuclei. Our framework diversifies cell image data generation and systematically addresses evaluation challenges in cell segmentation technologies, establishing a solid foundation for advancing research and applications in cell image analysis.

Cascade Residual Multiscale Convolution and Mamba-Structured UNet for Advanced Brain Tumor Image Segmentation

In brain imaging segmentation, precise tumor delineation is crucial for diagnosis and treatment planning. Traditional approaches include convolutional neural networks (CNNs), which struggle with processing sequential data, and transformer models that face limitations in maintaining computational efficiency with large-scale data. This study introduces MambaBTS: a model that synergizes the strengths of CNNs and transformers, is inspired by the Mamba architecture, and integrates cascade residual multi-scale convolutional kernels. The model employs a mixed loss function that blends dice loss with cross-entropy to refine segmentation accuracy effectively. This novel approach reduces computational complexity, enhances the receptive field, and demonstrates superior performance for accurately segmenting brain tumors in MRI images. Experiments on the MICCAI BraTS 2019 dataset show that MambaBTS achieves dice coefficients of 0.8450 for the whole tumor (WT), 0.8606 for the tumor core (TC), and 0.7796 for the enhancing tumor (ET) and outperforms existing models in terms of accuracy, computational efficiency, and parameter efficiency. These results underscore the model’s potential to offer a balanced, efficient, and effective segmentation method, overcoming the constraints of existing models and promising significant improvements in clinical diagnostics and planning.

Improved MRI Brain Tumor Segmentation Method Based on UNet++

Brain tumors are one of the most common tumors with high mortality. Accurate detection and quantitative evaluation of brain tumors are necessary for patient treatment. A reliable and effective method for automatic segmentation of brain tumors by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) plays a crucial role in patient treatment. In recent years, the Unet++ network structure has shown better performance in image segmentation. However, it is deficient in small-scale feature extraction and segmentation accuracy. In this study, the AC-ResUnet++ network was proposed to address the problems of Unet++ network mentioned above, which combined residual module, convolutional block attention module (CBAM) and Atrous spatial pyramidal pooling (ASPP). The residual module can solve the problem of gradient explosion in the deep network, CBAM can focus on local feature information and enhance the feature learning ability of the network for the target range, and ASPP module can generate different receptive fields and obtain multi-scale contextual feature information. The BraTS 2018 and BraTS 2019 datasets were used to test the proposed network. The Dice similarity coefficient of AC-ResUnet++ in whole tumor, tumor core and enhanced tumor are 0.8521, 0.8696 and 0.7868, respectively. Compared with Unet++ network, the Dice similarity coefficient increased by 1.22%, 5.08% and 2.03% on the baselines. The comprehensive results demonstrate that AC-ResUnet++ performs more effectively in improving the segmentation accuracy of brain tumor.

Segmentation method of magnetic resonance imaging brain tumor images based on improved UNet network.

Glioma is a primary malignant craniocerebral tumor commonly found in the central nervous system. According to research, preoperative diagnosis of glioma and a full understanding of its imaging features are very significant. Still, the traditional segmentation methods of image dispensation and machine wisdom are not acceptable in glioma segmentation. This analysis explores the potential of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain tumor images as an effective segmentation method of glioma. This study used 200 MRI images from the affiliated hospital and applied the 2-dimensional residual block UNet (2DResUNet). Features were extracted from input images using a 2×2 kernel size (64-kernel) 1-step 2D convolution (Conv) layer. The 2DDenseUNet model implemented in this study incorporates a ResBlock mechanism within the UNet architecture, as well as a Gaussian noise layer for data augmentation at the input stage, and a pooling layer for replacing the conventional 2D convolutional layers. Finally, the performance of the proposed protocol and its effective measures in glioma segmentation were verified. The outcomes of the 5-fold cross-validation evaluation show that the proposed 2DResUNet and 2DDenseUNet structure has a high sensitivity despite the slightly lower evaluation result on the Dice score. At the same time, compared with other models used in the experiment, the DM-DA-UNet model proposed in this paper was significantly improved in various indicators, increasing the reliability of the model and providing a reference and basis for the accurate formulation of clinical treatment strategies. The method used in this study showed stronger feature extraction ability than the UNet model. In addition, our findings demonstrated that using generalized die harm and prejudiced cross entropy as loss functions in the training process effectively alleviated the class imbalance of glioma data and effectively segmented glioma. The method based on the improved UNet network has obvious advantages in the MRI brain tumor portrait segmentation procedure. The result showed that we developed a 2D residual block UNet, which can improve the incorporation of glioma segmentation into the clinical process.

An improved semantic segmentation for breast lesion from dynamic contrast enhanced MRI images using deep learning

AbstractThe World Health Organization (WHO) reports that approximately 2.3 million breast cancer cases are diagnosed each year. Early detection is key to tackling this issue, and Dynamic Contrast Enhanced Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DCE‐MRI) is a preferred method for detecting tumors. Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) can accurately segment images without human assistance. The objective of this study is to develop a computer‐aided diagnosis system that can segment breast lesions from DCE‐MRI images. A 92‐layer deep CNN, called DCNN‐92, and a 94‐layer deep CNN, called DCNN‐94, have been designed to identify lesions. The proposed methods have been validated using images from The Cancer Image Archive (TCIA) database. The proposed DCNN‐92 model segments the tumor pixels effectively, but it exhibits some misclassifications where certain background pixels are incorrectly labeled as tumor and tumor pixels are identified as background. To segment the tumor pixels more accurately, two grouped convolution layers are added to the DCNN‐92 model. The model with 94 layers, that is, DCNN‐94, segments most of the tumor pixels correctly, thereby enhancing the segmentation performance. When compared to DCNN‐92, the DCNN‐94 model exhibits enhanced performance across standard metrics such as sensitivity, dice coefficient, Jaccard coefficient, and area under the curve (AUC). It was found that the training time for DCNN‐94 is shorter. The DCNN‐94 model with dilation factor and group convolution is concluded to be an effective method for lesion segmentation from breast DCE‐MRI images compared to existing methods.

An efficient hybrid differential evolution-golden jackal optimization algorithm for multilevel thresholding image segmentation.

Image segmentation is a crucial process in the field of image processing. Multilevel threshold segmentation is an effective image segmentation method, where an image is segmented into different regions based on multilevel thresholds for information analysis. However, the complexity of multilevel thresholding increases dramatically as the number of thresholds increases. To address this challenge, this article proposes a novel hybrid algorithm, termed differential evolution-golden jackal optimizer (DEGJO), for multilevel thresholding image segmentation using the minimum cross-entropy (MCE) as a fitness function. The DE algorithm is combined with the GJO algorithm for iterative updating of position, which enhances the search capacity of the GJO algorithm. The performance of the DEGJO algorithm is assessed on the CEC2021 benchmark function and compared with state-of-the-art optimization algorithms. Additionally, the efficacy of the proposed algorithm is evaluated by performing multilevel segmentation experiments on benchmark images. The experimental results demonstrate that the DEGJO algorithm achieves superior performance in terms of fitness values compared to other metaheuristic algorithms. Moreover, it also yields good results in quantitative performance metrics such as peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR), structural similarity index (SSIM), and feature similarity index (FSIM) measurements.

AISOA-SSformer: An Effective Image Segmentation Method for Rice Leaf Disease Based on the Transformer Architecture.

Rice leaf diseases have an important impact on modern farming, threatening crop health and yield. Accurate semantic segmentation techniques are crucial for segmenting diseased leaf parts and assisting farmers in disease identification. However, the diversity of rice growing environments and the complexity of leaf diseases pose challenges. To address these issues, this study introduces an innovative semantic segmentation algorithm for rice leaf pests and diseases based on the Transformer architecture AISOA-SSformer. First, it features the sparse global-update perceptron for real-time parameter updating, enhancing model stability and accuracy in learning irregular leaf features. Second, the salient feature attention mechanism is introduced to separate and reorganize features using the spatial reconstruction module (SRM) and channel reconstruction module (CRM), focusing on salient feature extraction and reducing background interference. Additionally, the annealing-integrated sparrow optimization algorithm fine-tunes the sparrow algorithm, gradually reducing the stochastic search amplitude to minimize loss. This enhances the model's adaptability and robustness, particularly against fuzzy edge features. The experimental results show that AISOA-SSformer achieves an 83.1% MIoU, an 80.3% Dice coefficient, and a 76.5% recall on a homemade dataset, with a model size of only 14.71 million parameters. Compared with other popular algorithms, it demonstrates greater accuracy in rice leaf disease segmentation. This method effectively improves segmentation, providing valuable insights for modern plantation management. The data and code used in this study will be open sourced at https://github.com/ZhouGuoXiong/Rice-Leaf-Disease-Segmentation-Dataset-Code.

CDRIME-MTIS: An enhanced rime optimization-driven multi-threshold segmentation for COVID-19 X-ray images

To improve the detection of COVID-19, this paper researches and proposes an effective swarm intelligence algorithm-driven multi-threshold image segmentation (MTIS) method. First, this paper proposes a novel RIME structure integrating the Co-adaptive hunting and dispersed foraging strategies, called CDRIME. Specifically, the Co-adaptive hunting strategy works in coordination with the basic search rules of RIME at the individual level, which not only facilitates the algorithm to explore the global optimal solution but also enriches the population diversity to a certain extent. The dispersed foraging strategy further enriches the population diversity to help the algorithm break the limitation of local search and thus obtain better convergence. Then, on this basis, a new multi-threshold image segmentation method is proposed by combining the 2D non-local histogram with 2D Kapur entropy, called CDRIME-MTIS. Finally, the results of experiments based on IEEE CEC2017, IEEE CEC2019, and IEEE CEC2022 demonstrate that CDRIME has superior performance than some other basic, advanced, and state-of-the-art algorithms in terms of global search, convergence performance, and escape from local optimality. Meanwhile, the segmentation experiments on COVID-19 X-ray images demonstrate that CDRIME is more advantageous than RIME and other peers in terms of segmentation effect and adaptability to different threshold levels. In conclusion, the proposed CDRIME significantly enhances the global optimization performance and image segmentation of RIME and has great potential to improve COVID-19 diagnosis.

Individual-Level fMRI Segmentation Based on Graphs

Aiming at the high complexity of fMRI data and the great spatial dependence of existing methods, a whole-brain functional segmentation algorithm with low computational overhead and low spatial structure dependence is proposed for individual-level fMRI segmentation in 3D space. Firstly, the spatial information and functional connectivity of each voxel in fMRI are utilized for pre-segmentation to create compact and functionally consistent super voxels, then extracts features such as average spatial coordinates and average time series at the super voxel level to reduce the computational effort of the segmentation algorithm, and performs segmentation in a cut-free manner to obtain the optimal segmentation graph by minimizing the energy function. The results of contrast experiment demonstrated that the algorithm fully exploits the connectivity information of fMRI for segmentation, relies less on the spatial structure, and achieves better functional segmentation results, which is an effective whole-brain functional segmentation method.

Semi-Supervised Drivable Road Segmentation with Expanded Feature Cross-Consistency

Drivable road segmentation aims to sense the surrounding environment to keep vehicles within safe road boundaries, which is fundamental in Advance Driver-Assistance Systems (ADASs). Existing deep learning-based supervised methods are able to achieve good performance in this field with large amounts of human-labeled training data. However, the process of collecting sufficient fine human-labeled data is extremely time-consuming and expensive. To fill this gap, in this paper, we innovatively propose a general yet effective semi-supervised method for drivable road segmentation with lower labeled-data dependency, high accuracy, and high real-time performance. Specifically, a main encoder and a main decoder are trained in the supervised mode with labeled data generating pseudo labels for the unsupervised training. Then, we innovatively set up both auxiliary encoders and auxiliary decoders in our model that yield feature representations and predictions based on the unlabeled data subjected to different elaborated perturbations. Both auxiliary encoders and decoders can leverage information in unlabeled data by enforcing consistency between predictions of the main modules and those perturbed versions from auxiliary modules. Experimental results on two public datasets (Cityspace and CamVid) verify that our proposed algorithm can almost reach the same performance with high FPS as a fully supervised method with 100% labeled data with only utilizing 40% labeled data in the field of drivable road segmentation. In addition, our semi-supervised algorithm has a good potential to be generalized to all models with an encoder–decoder structure.

EfficientUNet: An efficient solution for breast tumour segmentation in ultrasound images

AbstractThe accurate segmentation of breast tumours is important for the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. When using the classic U‐Net, Attention‐UNet, and UNet++ to segment the tumour, there are problems of oversegmentation, incorrect segmentation, and poor edge continuity. In this paper, an effective tumour segmentation method, EfficientUNet, is proposed. EfficientUNet adopts a step‐by‐step enhancement method, combining ResNet18, a channel attention mechanism and deep supervision. ResNet18, as the encoder of the whole network, solves the problem of gradient disappearanceand improves the feature extraction ability of the model. The channel attention module makes the model more accurate in tumour edge processing. The deep supervision technology accelerates the model training and provides the convergence direction for the model. In addition, it is found that when adjusting the size of the image, the method of image filling before clipping (or zooming) is more conducive to model learning than the direct interpolation method. And a comparative experiment wasperformed on dataset B. Compared to U‐Net, Attention‐UNet and UNet++, EfficientUNet has the highest performance. Finally, the ablation experiment also indicated the effectiveness of each module in EfficientUNet.

Automated microaneurysms detection in retinal images using SSA optimised U-NET and Bayesian optimised CNN

ABSTRACT Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a cause of vision loss and blindness, and early detection of red lesions, particularly microaneurysms (MAs), is crucial to prevent its progression. In this study, we propose an effective deep learning-based DR segmentation and classification method that leverages hyper-parameter optimisation to achieve high detection accuracy. In our proposed method, we first pre-processed retinal images to reduce background variability. Then, we employed a squirrel search optimised bidirectional ConvLSTM U-net with an attention gate for DR segmentation in the main processing step. Finally, we used a Bayesian-optimised Convolutional Neural Network for classification. We selected the optimal architectures for our proposed CNNs and optimised their hyper-parameters using the Bayesian optimisation technique.Our study demonstrates that the proposed CNNs effectively classify diabetic retinopathy in fundus images when model hyper-parameters are tuned with the help of Bayesian optimisation. We conducted statistical tests based on the receiver operating characteristic curve, histogram, and ANOVA test to verify the effectiveness of our suggested models.We proposed a deep learning-based DR segmentation and classification method that leverages hyper-parameter optimisation to achieve high detection accuracy. This study highlights the potential of Bayesian optimisation as an effective technique to optimise hyper-parameters of deep learning networks for disease classification tasks.

Enhancement and labelling of OCT images

Abstract Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a noninvasive technique for visualizing retinal cross-sections, assisting in diagnosing and monitoring retinal diseases. This study presents an effective OCT image noise reduction and segmentation method. Due to the high resolution of our primary image database, a visual comparison of filter performance was challenging. To address this, we utilized a high-noise image dataset from Duke University, enabling a better evaluation of noise reduction filters. Our method was compared against eight widely-used image filters, including Gaussian, Low pass,Wavelet domain filtering, Lee filter, Anisotropic diffusion, Bilateral filter, Total variational filter, and BM3D filter. Both visual and quantitative analyses were conducted using no-reference performance parameters, namely Gradient Magnitude Similarity Deviation (GMSD), Standard Deviation of Wavelet Coefficients (SDWC), Focus Measure with Tengrade Variance (FMTV), Perception-based Image Quality Evaluator (PIQE), and Visual Information Fidelity (VIF). The results demonstrated the superiority of our proposed filter in terms of noise reduction performance while maintaining the sharpness of retinal layers. Quantitative analysis revealed notable performance gains, including improvements of 63.27% to 83.24% with GMSD, consistent edge strength enhancement of 9.4% to 9.97% using SDWC, gains in image quality between 51.99% and 54.64% with FMTV, performance improvements ranging from 7.25% to 23.97% in terms of PIQE, and a substantial increase in performance varying from 16.31% to 27.69% when assessing the impact on retinal layer quality using VIF. Using the Kruskal-Wallis test, our proposed noise reduction method shows statistical significance for all quantitative parameters. Additionally, our clustering algorithm effectively separated the foreground, including retinal layers and vitreous detachment, from the background and identified an area representing the region between retinal layers where fluid accumulates. We’ve successfully achieved OCT image enhancement, along with distinct foreground and background segmentation.

SK-Unet++: An improved Unet++ network with adaptive receptive fields for automatic segmentation of ultrasound thyroid nodule images.

The quality of segmentation of thyroid nodules in ultrasound images is a crucial factor in preventing the cancerization of thyroid nodules. However, the existing standards for the ultrasound imaging of cancerous nodules have limitations, and changes of the echo pattern of thyroid nodules pose challenges in accurately segmenting nodules, which can affect the diagnostic results of medical professionals. The aim of this study is to address the challenges related to segmentation accuracy due to noise, low contrast, morphological scale variations, and blurred edges of thyroid nodules in ultrasound images and improve the accuracy of ultrasound-based thyroid nodule segmentation, thereby aiding the clinical diagnosis of thyroid nodules. In this study, the dataset of thyroid ultrasound images was obtained from Hunan Provincial People's Hospital, consisting of a total of 3572 samples used for the training, validation, and testing of this model at a ratio of 8:1:1. A novel SK-Unet++ network was used to enhance the segmentation accuracy of thyroid nodules. SK-Unet++ is a novel deep learning architecture that adds the adaptive receptive fields based on the selective kernel (SK) attention mechanisms into the Unet++ network. The convolution blocks of the original UNet++ encoder part were replaced with finer SK convolution blocks in SK-Unet++. First, multiple skip connections were incorporated so that SK-Unet++ can make information from previous layers of the neural network to bypass certain layers and directly propagate to subsequent layers. The feature maps of the corresponding locations were fused on the channel, resulting in enhanced segmentation accuracy. Second, we added the adaptive receptive fields. The adaptive receptive fields were used to capture multiscale spatial features better by dynamically adjusting its receptive field. The assessment metrics contained dice similarity coefficient (Dsc), accuracy (Acc), precision (Pre), recall (Re), and Hausdorff distance, and all comparison experiments used the paired t-tests to assess whether statistically significant performance differences existed (p<0.05). And to address the multi-comparison problem, we performed the false discovery rate (FDR) correction after the test. The segmentation model had an Acc of 80.6%, Dsc of 84.7%, Pre of 77.5%, Re of 71.7%, and an average Hausdorff distance of 15.80mm. Ablation experimental results demonstrated that each module in the network could contribute to the improved performance (p<0.05) and determined the best combination of parameters. A comparison with other state-of-the-art methods showed that SK-Unet++ significantly outperformed them in terms of segmentation performance (p<0.05), with a more accurate segmentation contour. Additionally, the adaptive weight changes of the SK module were monitored during the training process, and the resulting change curves demonstrated their convergence. Our proposed method demonstrates favorable performance in the segmentation of ultrasound images of thyroid nodules. Results confirmed that SK-Unet++ is a feasible and effective method for the automatic segmentation of thyroid nodules in ultrasound images. The high accuracy achieved by our method can facilitate efficient screening of patients with thyroid nodules, ultimately reducing the workload of clinicians and radiologists.