YOLOv8-Based Deep Learning Approach for Real-Time Skin Lesion Classification Using the HAM10000 Dataset

Skin cancer is a prevalent and potentially fatal disease that requires early detection for effective treatment. We trained and evaluated five YOLOv8 classification model variants (YOLOv8n-cls, YOLOv8s-cls, YOLOv8m-cls, YOLOv8l-cls, and YOLOv8x-cls) on the HAM10000 dataset, which contains 10,015 dermatoscopic images of common pigmented skin lesions. The models were trained for 30 epochs using data augmentation techniques to enhance generalization. Performance was assessed using metrics including accuracy, precision, recall, F1-score, and inference time. The YOLOv8x-cls model achieved the highest accuracy of 86.2% and precision of 82.1%, while the YOLOv81-cIs model demonstrated the best balance with the highest F1-score of 77.0%. Compared to previous ensemble approaches, our single YOLOv8 models achieved superior performance with lower computational overhead. The YOLOv8n-cls variant showed the fastest inference time of 0.5 ms, making it suitable for real-time applications. Our results demonstrate the potential of YOLOv8-based models for accurate and efficient skin lesion classification, which could aid in early skin cancer detection and improve patient outcomes.