  In this study, to address the current high earlydetection miss rate of
colorectal cancer (CRC) polyps, we explore the potentials of utilizing transfer
learning and machine learning (ML) classifiers to precisely and sensitively
classify the type of CRC polyps. Instead of using the common colonoscopic
images, we applied three different ML algorithms on the 3D textural image
outputs of a unique vision-based surface tactile sensor (VS-TS). To collect
realistic textural images of CRC polyps for training the utilized ML
classifiers and evaluating their performance, we first designed and additively
manufactured 48 types of realistic polyp phantoms with different hardness,
type, and textures. Next, the performance of the used three ML algorithms in
classifying the type of fabricated polyps was quantitatively evaluated using
various statistical metrics.
