Fusion: Practice and Applications

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Volume 21 , Issue 2 , PP: 93-103, 2026 | Cite this article as | XML | Html | PDF | Full Length Article

A Hybrid Deep Learning Model Combining VGG19 and AD_Net through Feature-Level Fusion for Real-Time Skin Cancer Classification

Ali Atshan Abdulredah 1 * , Monji Kherallah 2 , Faiza Charfi 3

  • 1 ‎National School of Electronics and Telecoms of Sfax, University of Sfax, Tunisia; ‎College of Computer Science and information Technology, University of Sumer, Iraq - (ali.atshan@uos.edu.iq)
  • 2 ‎ Faculty of Science of Sfax, University of Sfax, Tunisia - (Monji.Kherallah@gmail.com)
  • 3 ‎ Faculty of Science of Sfax, University of Sfax, Tunisia - (Faiza.charfi@gmail.com)
  • Doi: https://doi.org/10.54216/FPA.210206

    Received: March 17, 2025 Revised: June 11, 2025 Accepted: July 20, 2025
    Abstract

    Automated detection (AD) techniques are essential for early recognition of skin cancer. Hybrid models using feature fusion, which combine pre-trained CNNs with customized models, have shown superiority in real-time skin cancer pathology classification. This study combines VGG19 feature maps with a novel learning network based framework called AD_Net to enhance classification accuracy. VGG19 facilitated robust low-level feature extraction, while AD_Net brilliantly extracts specialized patterns. This strategy provided a flexible and fast architecture, suitable for real-time medical applications. This work led to the classification of three of the most lethal skin cancer types. The model was trained and validated using experiments on the publicly available ISIC2019 dataset. In order to improve the interpretability of the model's predictions, interpretable artificial intelligence (XAI) techniques particularly Grad-CAM were applied. Four baseline models EfficientNetB0, MobileNetV2, Inception-v3, and VGG16, were used to assess the proposal's efficacy. The suggested model outperformed the four baseline models with 99.18% accuracy, 99.0% precision, 99.0% recall, and 99.0% F1 score. Dermatologists and other medical professionals can use this method to detect skin cancer early.

    Keywords :

    Hybrid models , Feature fusion , Skin cancer , Explainable AI (XAI) , Automated &lrm , diagnosis (AD_Net)

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    Cite This Article As :
    Atshan, Ali. , Kherallah, Monji. , Charfi, Faiza. A Hybrid Deep Learning Model Combining VGG19 and AD_Net through Feature-Level Fusion for Real-Time Skin Cancer Classification. Fusion: Practice and Applications, vol. , no. , 2026, pp. 93-103. DOI: https://doi.org/10.54216/FPA.210206
    Atshan, A. Kherallah, M. Charfi, F. (2026). A Hybrid Deep Learning Model Combining VGG19 and AD_Net through Feature-Level Fusion for Real-Time Skin Cancer Classification. Fusion: Practice and Applications, (), 93-103. DOI: https://doi.org/10.54216/FPA.210206
    Atshan, Ali. Kherallah, Monji. Charfi, Faiza. A Hybrid Deep Learning Model Combining VGG19 and AD_Net through Feature-Level Fusion for Real-Time Skin Cancer Classification. Fusion: Practice and Applications , no. (2026): 93-103. DOI: https://doi.org/10.54216/FPA.210206
    Atshan, A. , Kherallah, M. , Charfi, F. (2026) . A Hybrid Deep Learning Model Combining VGG19 and AD_Net through Feature-Level Fusion for Real-Time Skin Cancer Classification. Fusion: Practice and Applications , () , 93-103 . DOI: https://doi.org/10.54216/FPA.210206
    Atshan A. , Kherallah M. , Charfi F. [2026]. A Hybrid Deep Learning Model Combining VGG19 and AD_Net through Feature-Level Fusion for Real-Time Skin Cancer Classification. Fusion: Practice and Applications. (): 93-103. DOI: https://doi.org/10.54216/FPA.210206
    Atshan, A. Kherallah, M. Charfi, F. "A Hybrid Deep Learning Model Combining VGG19 and AD_Net through Feature-Level Fusion for Real-Time Skin Cancer Classification," Fusion: Practice and Applications, vol. , no. , pp. 93-103, 2026. DOI: https://doi.org/10.54216/FPA.210206