# Uncertainty categories in medical image segmentation: a study of source-related diversity

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2203.00238 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2203.00238/

## Key facts

- Cited by 4 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 14 of its 23 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 1 Mar 2022.

## Builds on (most cited first, 14 of 14)

- [Dropout as a Bayesian Approximation: Representing Model Uncertainty in Deep Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1506.02142/) (2015)
- [Auto-Encoding Variational Bayes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1312.6114/) (2013)
- [What Uncertainties Do We Need in Bayesian Deep Learning for Computer Vision?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1703.04977/) (2017)
- [Identifying the Best Machine Learning Algorithms for Brain Tumor Segmentation, Progression Assessment, and Overall Survival Prediction in the BRATS Challenge](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1811.02629/) (2018)
- [A Probabilistic U-Net for Segmentation of Ambiguous Images](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1806.05034/) (2018)
- [Aleatoric uncertainty estimation with test-time augmentation for medical image segmentation with convolutional neural networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1807.07356/) (2018)
- [Confidence Calibration and Predictive Uncertainty Estimation for Deep Medical Image Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1911.13273/) (2019)
- [PHiSeg: Capturing Uncertainty in Medical Image Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1906.04045/) (2019)
- [Assessing Reliability and Challenges of Uncertainty Estimations for Medical Image Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1907.03338/) (2019)
- [Bayesian Uncertainty Estimation for Batch Normalized Deep Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1802.06455/) (2018)
- [Post Training Uncertainty Calibration of Deep Networks For Medical Image Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.14290/) (2020)
- [Challenges for machine learning in clinical translation of big data imaging studies](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.05630/) (2021)
- [Integrating uncertainty in deep neural networks for MRI based stroke analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2008.06332/) (2020)
- [Propagating Uncertainty in Multi-Stage Bayesian Convolutional Neural Networks with Application to Pulmonary Nodule Detection](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1712.00497/) (2017)

## Built on by (most cited first, 4 of 4)

- [ValUES: A Framework for Systematic Validation of Uncertainty Estimation in Semantic Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.08501/) (2024)
- [Structural-Based Uncertainty in Deep Learning Across Anatomical Scales: Analysis in White Matter Lesion Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.08931/) (2023)
- [A Review of Bayesian Uncertainty Quantification in Deep Probabilistic Image Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2411.16370/) (2024)
- [Confidence Contours: Uncertainty-Aware Annotation for Medical Semantic Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2308.07528/) (2023)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Measuring uncertainties in the output of a deep learning method is useful in several ways, such as in assisting with interpretation of the outputs, helping build confidence with end users, and for improving the training and performance of the networks. Several different methods have been proposed to estimate uncertainties, including those from epistemic (relating to the model used) and aleatoric (relating to the data) sources using test-time dropout and augmentation, respectively. Not only are these uncertainty sources different, but they are governed by parameter settings (e.g., dropout rate or type and level of augmentation) that establish even more distinct uncertainty categories. This work investigates how different the uncertainties are from these categories, for magnitude and spatial pattern, to empirically address the question of whether they provide usefully distinct information that should be captured whenever uncertainties are used. We take the well characterised BraTS challenge dataset to demonstrate that there are substantial differences in both magnitude and spatial pattern of uncertainties from the different categories, and discuss the implications of these in various use cases.