A Review of Causality for Learning Algorithms in Medical Image Analysis
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Abstract (arXiv)
Medical image analysis is a vibrant research area that offers doctors and medical practitioners invaluable insight and the ability to accurately diagnose and monitor disease. Machine learning provides an additional boost for this area. However, machine learning for medical image analysis is particularly vulnerable to natural biases like domain shifts that affect algorithmic performance and robustness. In this paper we analyze machine learning for medical image analysis within the framework of Technology Readiness Levels and review how causal analysis methods can fill a gap when creating robust and adaptable medical image analysis algorithms. We review methods using causality in medical imaging AI/ML and find that causal analysis has the potential to mitigate critical problems for clinical translation but that uptake and clinical downstream research has been limited so far.
Key facts. Cited by 18 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026). Builds on 47 of its 86 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 11 Jun 2022.
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47 of 86 references.
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Citing papers per year: 2022: 1; 2023: 8; 2024: 3; 2025: 4; 2026: 2.
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- 2025CAPRI-CT: Causal Analysis and Predictive Reasoning for Image Quality Optimization in Computed Tomography23 Jul 2025
- 2025Causally Steered Diffusion for Automated Video Counterfactual Generation17 Jun 2025
- 2025Large language models for artificial general intelligence (AGI): A survey of foundational principles and approaches6 Jan 2025
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- 2023A Framework for Interpretability in Machine Learning for Medical Imaging2 Oct 2023
- 2023Causal Intersectionality and Dual Form of Gradient Descent for Multimodal Analysis: a Case Study on Hateful Memes19 Aug 2023
- 2023Improving Image-Based Precision Medicine with Uncertainty-Aware Causal Models5 May 2023
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- 2023Are demographically invariant models and representations in medical imaging fair?2 May 2023
- 2023Counterfactual Learning on Graphs: A Survey3 Apr 2023
- 2023Causal Image Synthesis of Brain MR in 3D25 Mar 2023
- 2023Pretrained Vision Models for Predicting High-Risk Breast Cancer Stage19 Mar 2023
- 2023A Review of the Role of Causality in Developing Trustworthy AI Systems14 Feb 2023
- 2022A Review and Roadmap of Deep Learning Causal Discovery in Different Variable Paradigms14 Sep 2022
- 2024Causal Agent based on Large Language Modelcited by 10
- 2024Causal Agent based on Large Language Model13 Aug 2024
- 2023Counterfactual Learning on Graphs: A Surveycited by 22
- 2024Benchmarking Counterfactual Image Generationcited by 22
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- 2024A Systematic Review of Generalization Research in Medical Image Classificationcited by 8
- 2023Are demographically invariant models and representations in medical imaging fair?cited by 6
- 2023Improving Image-Based Precision Medicine with Uncertainty-Aware Causal Modelscited by 5
- 2022A Review and Roadmap of Deep Learning Causal Discovery in Different Variable Paradigmscited by 4
- 2023Causal Intersectionality and Dual Form of Gradient Descent for Multimodal Analysis: a Case Study on Hateful Memescited by 2
- 2023Pretrained Vision Models for Predicting High-Risk Breast Cancer Stagecited by 1
- 2025CAPRI-CT: Causal Analysis and Predictive Reasoning for Image Quality Optimization in Computed Tomographycited by 1
- 2023Causal Image Synthesis of Brain MR in 3Dcited by 0
12 most cited of 15 All 15 (JSON)
- 2026To do(x) or not to do(x): Medical Image Counterfactuals for Dataset Augmentation12 Sep 2026
- 2026Causal Transfer in Medical Image Analysis25 Mar 2026
- 2025Medical Report Generation: A Hierarchical Task Structure-Based Cross-Modal Causal Intervention Framework4 Nov 2025
- 2025CAPRI-CT: Causal Analysis and Predictive Reasoning for Image Quality Optimization in Computed Tomography23 Jul 2025
- 2024Benchmarking Counterfactual Image Generation29 Mar 2024
- 2024A Systematic Review of Generalization Research in Medical Image Classification18 Mar 2024
- 2023A Framework for Interpretability in Machine Learning for Medical Imaging2 Oct 2023
- 2023Causal Intersectionality and Dual Form of Gradient Descent for Multimodal Analysis: a Case Study on Hateful Memes19 Aug 2023
- 2023Improving Image-Based Precision Medicine with Uncertainty-Aware Causal Models5 May 2023
- 2023Are demographically invariant models and representations in medical imaging fair?2 May 2023
- 2023Counterfactual Learning on Graphs: A Survey3 Apr 2023
- 2023Causal Image Synthesis of Brain MR in 3D25 Mar 2023
12 newest of 15 All 15 (JSON)