QuantumBoostNet: Hybrid Classical-Quantum Cardiac View Identification
TL;DR
The hybrid classical-quantum architecture QuantumBoostNet is proposed, which combines a classical backbone with two heads: one classical and one quantum, a parametrized 10-qubit quantum circuit, which outperforms the implemented baselines under matched training conditions.
Abstract
Accurate identification of the correct view or angle in cardiac ultrasound (echocardiogram) is critical for cardiologic imaging, precise anatomical interpretation, and reducing clinical errors. Most state-of-the-art classical models perform well on standard benchmarks but give suboptimal results in specialized medical imaging due to high noise levels. To address these challenges, this work proposes the hybrid classical-quantum architecture QuantumBoostNet, which combines a classical backbone with two heads: one classical and one quantum, a parametrized 10-qubit quantum circuit. The main contribution of this work is training in two stages, with an adaptive transition between heads controlled by a mixing parameter that monitors loss dynamics. Extensive experiments show that QuantumBoostNet outperforms the implemented baselines under matched training conditions. Statistically significant gains appear on FashionMNIST ($p_t=9.91\!\times\!10^{-6}$) and MNIST ($p_t=1.29\!\times\!10^{-5}$), with a less significant improvement on the echocardiography task ($p_t=0.0711$). The model also shows robustness to noise. These findings support continued development of hybrid classical-quantum models for specialized medical imaging applications.