# Automatic detection of abnormal clinical EEG: comparison of a finetuned foundation model with two deep learning models

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.21507 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.21507/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 10 of its 55 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 13 May 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 10 of 10)

- [On the Opportunities and Risks of Foundation Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.07258/) (2021)
- [EEGNet: A Compact Convolutional Network for EEG-based Brain-Computer Interfaces](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1611.08024/) (2016)
- [Deep learning-based electroencephalography analysis: a systematic review](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1901.05498/) (2019)
- [Metrics for saliency map evaluation of deep learning explanation methods](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.13291/) (2022)
- [Machine-Learning-Based Diagnostics of EEG Pathology](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2002.05115/) (2020)
- [ChronoNet: A Deep Recurrent Neural Network for Abnormal EEG Identification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1802.00308/) (2018)
- [Improving Clinician Performance in Classification of EEG Patterns on the Ictal-Interictal-Injury Continuum using Interpretable Machine Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.05207/) (2022)
- [Automatic detection of abnormal EEG signals using wavelet feature extraction and gradient boosting decision tree](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2012.10034/) (2020)
- [BioSerenity-E1: a self-supervised EEG model for medical applications](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2503.10362/) (2025)
- [MP-SeizNet: A Multi-Path CNN Bi-LSTM Network for Seizure-Type Classification Using EEG](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2211.04628/) (2022)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Electroencephalography (EEG) is commonly used by physicians for the diagnosis of numerous neurological disorders. Due to the large volume of EEGs requiring interpretation and the specific expertise involved, artificial intelligence-based tools are being developed to assist in their visual analysis. In this paper, we compare two deep learning models (CNN-LSTM and Transformer-based) with BioSerenity-E1, a recently proposed foundation model, in the task of classifying entire EEG recordings as normal or abnormal. The three models were trained or finetuned on 2,500 EEG recordings and their performances were evaluated on two private and one public datasets: a large multicenter dataset annotated by a single specialist (dataset A composed of n = 4,480 recordings), a small multicenter dataset annotated by three specialists (dataset B, n = 198), and the Temple University Abnormal (TUAB) EEG corpus evaluation dataset (n = 276). On dataset A, the three models achieved at least 86% balanced accuracy, with BioSerenity-E1 finetuned achieving the highest balanced accuracy (89.19% [88.36-90.41]). BioSerenity-E1 finetuned also achieved the best performance on dataset B, with 94.63% [92.32-98.12] balanced accuracy. The models were then validated on TUAB evaluation dataset, whose corresponding training set was not used during training, where they achieved at least 76% accuracy. Specifically, BioSerenity-E1 finetuned outperformed the other two models, reaching an accuracy of 82.25% [78.27-87.48]. Our results highlight the usefulness of leveraging pre-trained models for automatic EEG classification: enabling robust and efficient interpretation of EEG data with fewer resources and broader applicability.