Comparative Analysis of Homomorphic and Morphological Filters Using Inception V3 for Thermal Facial Image Classification of Autistic Children

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neuro-developmental disorder characterized by varying degrees of difficulty in social interaction and communication and repetitive behaviors. Early confirmation of the diagnosis of ASD leads to early appropriate treatment. However, confirming ASD diagnosis is challenging due to its wide spectrum and challenging behavior assessment. This research proposes a technology-based ASD diagnosis on children utilizing thermal facial analysis. This is conducted subject to the uniqueness of facial expression that is typically applied to children with ASD. A modified Inception V3 architecture did the intended thermal facial analysis for ASD diagnosis. Homomorphic filters and morphological filters are applied to the data pre-processing to improve the classification ability. The proposed identification method shows better sensitivity to the false-positive aspect. It is indicated by better performance in terms of precision, with a rate of 90% to 91%. This research is expected to support medical experts in confirming early diagnosis in children with ASD.