# FocusNet: An attention-based Fully Convolutional Network for Medical Image Segmentation

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1902.03091 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1902.03091/

## Key facts

- Cited by 24 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 8 Feb 2019.

## Built on by (most cited first, 24 of 24)

- [MSRF-Net: A Multi-Scale Residual Fusion Network for Biomedical Image Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2105.07451/) (2021)
- [DCSAU-Net: A Deeper and More Compact Split-Attention U-Net for Medical Image Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.00972/) (2022)
- [The Fully Convolutional Transformer for Medical Image Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.00566/) (2022)
- [A Survey on Deep Learning for Skin Lesion Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.00356/) (2022)
- [Real-time Instance Segmentation of Surgical Instruments using Attention and Multi-scale Feature Fusion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2111.04911/) (2021)
- [MMOTU: A Multi-Modality Ovarian Tumor Ultrasound Image Dataset for Unsupervised Cross-Domain Semantic Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.06799/) (2022)
- [Optimizing Vision Transformers for Medical Image Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.08066/) (2022)
- [Attention Mechanisms in Medical Image Segmentation: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.17937/) (2023)
- [CpT: Convolutional Point Transformer for 3D Point Cloud Processing](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2111.10866/) (2021)
- [Dilated-UNet: A Fast and Accurate Medical Image Segmentation Approach using a Dilated Transformer and U-Net Architecture](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.11450/) (2023)
- [SSL-CPCD: Self-supervised learning with composite pretext-class discrimination for improved generalisability in endoscopic image analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.00197/) (2023)
- [PMFSNet: Polarized Multi-scale Feature Self-attention Network For Lightweight Medical Image Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.07579/) (2024)
- [MNet-SAt: A Multiscale Network with Spatial-enhanced Attention for Segmentation of Polyps in Colonoscopy](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2412.19464/) (2024)
- [FMDNN: A Fuzzy-guided Multi-granular Deep Neural Network for Histopathological Image Classification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.15312/) (2024)
- [U-Net-based Models for Skin Lesion Segmentation: More Attention and Augmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2210.16399/) (2022)
- [LCAUnet: A skin lesion segmentation network with enhanced edge and body fusion](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.00837/) (2023)
- [Object Based Attention Through Internal Gating](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.04540/) (2021)
- [PL-Net: Progressive Learning Network for Medical Image Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.14484/) (2021)
- [PAANet: Progressive Alternating Attention for Automatic Medical Image Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2111.10618/) (2021)
- [Deeply Dual Supervised learning for melanoma recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.01994/) (2025)
- [Edge Detection for Organ Boundaries via Top Down Refinement and SubPixel Upsampling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.06805/) (2025)
- [DualResolution Residual Architecture with Artifact Suppression for Melanocytic Lesion Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.06816/) (2025)
- [VesselRW: Weakly Supervised Subcutaneous Vessel Segmentation via Learned Random Walk Propagation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2508.06819/) (2025)
- [ConvNeXt-FD: A Fractal-Based Deep Model for Robust Biomedical Image Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.22002/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We propose a novel technique to incorporate attention within convolutional neural networks using feature maps generated by a separate convolutional autoencoder. Our attention architecture is well suited for incorporation with deep convolutional networks. We evaluate our model on benchmark segmentation datasets in skin cancer segmentation and lung lesion segmentation. Results show highly competitive performance when compared with U-Net and it's residual variant.