A review of uncertainty quantification in medical image analysis: probabilistic and non-probabilistic methods

TL;DR

This review comprehensively surveys probabilistic and non-probabilistic uncertainty quantification methods in medical image analysis, emphasizing their importance for improving model reliability and clinical adoption.

Contribution

It provides a holistic overview of uncertainty quantification techniques, including non-probabilistic approaches, and discusses their application challenges in medical imaging.

Findings

Includes both probabilistic and non-probabilistic methods

Highlights challenges in uncertainty evaluation for medical images

Suggests future research directions in the field

Abstract

The comprehensive integration of machine learning healthcare models within clinical practice remains suboptimal, notwithstanding the proliferation of high-performing solutions reported in the literature. A predominant factor hindering widespread adoption pertains to an insufficiency of evidence affirming the reliability of the aforementioned models. Recently, uncertainty quantification methods have been proposed as a potential solution to quantify the reliability of machine learning models and thus increase the interpretability and acceptability of the result. In this review, we offer a comprehensive overview of prevailing methods proposed to quantify uncertainty inherent in machine learning models developed for various medical image tasks. Contrary to earlier reviews that exclusively focused on probabilistic methods, this review also explores non-probabilistic approaches, thereby furnishing a more holistic survey of research pertaining to uncertainty quantification for machine learning models. Analysis of medical images with the summary and discussion on medical applications and the corresponding uncertainty evaluation protocols are presented, which focus on the specific challenges of uncertainty in medical image analysis. We also highlight some potential future research work at the end. Generally, this review aims to allow researchers from both clinical and technical backgrounds to gain a quick and yet in-depth understanding of the research in uncertainty quantification for medical image analysis machine learning models.