Classification of Visually Similar Scalp Diseases using Deep Learning: A Hybrid CNN-VIT Approach with Cross-Attention Fusion

The study introduces ScalpViT, a novel hybrid deep learning model designed to accurately diagnose visually similar scalp diseases, such as Psoriasis, Seborrheic Dermatitis, Tinea Capitis, Alopecia Areata, Folliculitis, and Eczema. These conditions often share overlapping visual features, complicating diagnosis. ScalpViT combines a Vision Transformer (ViT) and a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) with a cross-attention fusion module to enhance diagnostic accuracy. Trained on a dataset of approximately 7,000 images, ScalpViT achieved a 94.3% accuracy rate, outperforming existing models like ResNet-50 and EfficientNet-B3. The model also provides visual explainability through GradCAM and Attention Rollout, aiding clinical interpretation and deployment, especially in resource-limited settings.