Feature Gradient Flow for Interpreting Deep Neural Networks in Head and
  Neck Cancer Prediction
Yinzhu Jin Jonathan C. Garneau P. Thomas Fletcher
This paper introduces feature gradient flow, a new technique for interpreting
deep learning models in terms of features that are understandable to humans.
The gradient flow of a model locally defines nonlinear coordinates in the input
data space representing the information the model is using to make its
decisions. Our idea is to measure the agreement of interpretable features with
the gradient flow of a model. To then evaluate the importance of a particular
feature to the model, we compare that feature's gradient flow measure versus
that of a baseline noise feature. We then develop a technique for training
neural networks to be more interpretable by adding a regularization term to the
loss function that encourages the model gradients to align with those of chosen
interpretable features. We test our method in a convolutional neural network
prediction of distant metastasis of head and neck cancer from a computed
tomography dataset from the Cancer Imaging Archive.