While machine learning (ML) includes a valuable array of tools for analyzing biomedical data, significant time and expertise is required to assemble effective, rigorous, and unbiased pipelines. Automated ML (AutoML) tools seek to facilitate ML application by automating a subset of analysis pipeline elements. In this study we develop and validate a Simple, Transparent, End-to-end Automated Machine Learning Pipeline (STREAMLINE) and apply it to investigate the added utility of photography-based phenotypes for predicting obstructive sleep apnea (OSA); a common and underdiagnosed condition associated with a variety of health, economic, and safety consequences. STREAMLINE is designed to tackle biomedical binary classification tasks while adhering to best practices and accommodating complexity, scalability, reproducibility, customization, and model interpretation. Benchmarking analyses validated the efficacy of STREAMLINE across data simulations with increasingly complex patterns of association. Then we applied STREAMLINE to evaluate the utility of demographics (DEM), self-reported comorbidities (DX), symptoms (SYM), and photography-based craniofacial (CF) and intraoral (IO) anatomy measures in predicting any OSA or moderate/severe OSA using 3,111 participants from Sleep Apnea Global Interdisciplinary Consortium (SAGIC). OSA analyses identified a significant increase in ROC-AUC when adding CF to DEM+DX+SYM to predict moderate/severe OSA. A consistent but non-significant increase in PRC-AUC was observed with the addition of each subsequent feature set to predict any OSA, with CF and IO yielding minimal improvements. Application of STREAMLINE to OSA data suggests that CF features provide additional value in predicting moderate/severe OSA, but neither CF nor IO features meaningfully improved the prediction of any OSA beyond established demographics, comorbidity and symptom characteristics.

使用 STREAMLINE 方法，这项研究探索了基于摄影的表型特征在预测阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停（OSA）中的应用价值，结果发现摄影特征在预测中重度/严重 OSA 方面提供了额外的价值，但没有超越传统人口统计学、并发症和症状特征在预测 OSA 中的效果。

STREAMLINE: An Automated Machine Learning Pipeline for Biomedicine
  Applied to Examine the Utility of Photography-Based Phenotypes for OSA
  Prediction Across International Sleep Centers

STREAMLINE：一个面向生物医学的自动机器学习流水线，应用于检验基于摄影特征对OSA预测在国际睡眠中心的实用性