Self-supervised learning methods and applications in medical imaging analysis: A survey
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Abstract (arXiv)
The scarcity of high-quality annotated medical imaging datasets is a major problem that collides with machine learning applications in the field of medical imaging analysis and impedes its advancement. Self-supervised learning is a recent training paradigm that enables learning robust representations without the need for human annotation which can be considered an effective solution for the scarcity of annotated medical data. This article reviews the state-of-the-art research directions in self-supervised learning approaches for image data with a concentration on their applications in the field of medical imaging analysis. The article covers a set of the most recent self-supervised learning methods from the computer vision field as they are applicable to the medical imaging analysis and categorize them as predictive, generative, and contrastive approaches. Moreover, the article covers 40 of the most recent research papers in the field of self-supervised learning in medical imaging analysis aiming at shedding the light on the recent innovation in the field. Finally, the article concludes with possible future research directions in the field.
Key facts. Cited by 76 papers in the map (data through 7 Oct 2026). Builds on 80 of its 130 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 17 Sep 2021.
Builds on
80 of 130 references.
References · 80
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50 most cited of 80 All 80 (JSON)
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Citing papers per year: 2022: 13; 2023: 22; 2024: 14; 2025: 19; 2026: 8.
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