# Mamba2MIL: State Space Duality Based Multiple Instance Learning for Computational Pathology

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2408.15032 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2408.15032/

## Key facts

- Cited by 4 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 21 of its 33 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 27 Aug 2024.

## Builds on (most cited first, 21 of 21)

- [Attention Is All You Need](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.03762/) (2017)
- [Deep Residual Learning for Image Recognition](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1512.03385/) (2015)
- [Mamba: Linear-Time Sequence Modeling with Selective State Spaces](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2312.00752/) (2023)
- [Transformers are SSMs: Generalized Models and Efficient Algorithms Through Structured State Space Duality](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.21060/) (2024)
- [Attention-based Deep Multiple Instance Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1802.04712/) (2018)
- [Vision Mamba: Efficient Visual Representation Learning with Bidirectional State Space Model](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.09417/) (2024)
- [Data Efficient and Weakly Supervised Computational Pathology on Whole Slide Images](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2004.09666/) (2020)
- [TransMIL: Transformer based Correlated Multiple Instance Learning for Whole Slide Image Classification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.00908/) (2021)
- [Dual-stream Multiple Instance Learning Network for Whole Slide Image Classification with Self-supervised Contrastive Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2011.08939/) (2020)
- [Nystr"omformer: A Nystr"om-Based Algorithm for Approximating Self-Attention](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2102.03902/) (2021)
- [Visual Language Pretrained Multiple Instance Zero-Shot Transfer for Histopathology Images](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.07831/) (2023)
- [BRACS: A Dataset for BReAst Carcinoma Subtyping in H&E Histology Images](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2111.04740/) (2021)
- [Artificial Intelligence for Digital and Computational Pathology](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.06148/) (2023)
- [MambaMIL: Enhancing Long Sequence Modeling with Sequence Reordering in Computational Pathology](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.06800/) (2024)
- [Morphological Prototyping for Unsupervised Slide Representation Learning in Computational Pathology](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.11643/) (2024)
- [Task-specific Fine-tuning via Variational Information Bottleneck for Weakly-supervised Pathology Whole Slide Image Classification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.08446/) (2023)
- [Weakly supervised multiple instance learning histopathological tumor segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2004.05024/) (2020)
- [Structured State Space Models for Multiple Instance Learning in Digital Pathology](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.15789/) (2023)
- [Deep Learning for Computational Cytology: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2202.05126/) (2022)
- [MamMIL: Multiple Instance Learning for Whole Slide Images with State Space Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.05160/) (2024)
- [Snakes and Ladders: Two Steps Up for VideoMamba](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.19006/) (2024)

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

- [FMaMIL: Frequency-Driven Mamba Multi-Instance Learning for Weakly Supervised Lesion Segmentation in Medical Images](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2506.07652/) (2025)
- [DeltaMIL: Gated Memory Integration for Efficient and Discriminative Whole Slide Image Analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2512.19331/) (2025)
- [AnomExpert: Identifying and Selecting Anatomical Planes for Prenatal Ultrasound Anomaly Diagnosis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2607.13409/) (2026)
- [A Multi-Cohort Validation of Censoring-Aware Conformal Lower Predictive Bounds for Pathology Survival Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.04025/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Computational pathology (CPath) has significantly advanced the clinical practice of pathology. Despite the progress made, Multiple Instance Learning (MIL), a promising paradigm within CPath, continues to face challenges, particularly related to incomplete information utilization. Existing frameworks, such as those based on Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs), attention, and selective scan space state sequential model (SSM), lack sufficient flexibility and scalability in fusing diverse features, and cannot effectively fuse diverse features. Additionally, current approaches do not adequately exploit order-related and order-independent features, resulting in suboptimal utilization of sequence information. To address these limitations, we propose a novel MIL framework called Mamba2MIL. Our framework utilizes the state space duality model (SSD) to model long sequences of patches of whole slide images (WSIs), which, combined with weighted feature selection, supports the fusion processing of more branching features and can be extended according to specific application needs. Moreover, we introduce a sequence transformation method tailored to varying WSI sizes, which enhances sequence-independent features while preserving local sequence information, thereby improving sequence information utilization. Extensive experiments demonstrate that Mamba2MIL surpasses state-of-the-art MIL methods. We conducted extensive experiments across multiple datasets, achieving improvements in nearly all performance metrics. Specifically, on the NSCLC dataset, Mamba2MIL achieves a binary tumor classification AUC of 0.9533 and an accuracy of 0.8794. On the BRACS dataset, it achieves a multiclass classification AUC of 0.7986 and an accuracy of 0.4981. The code is available at https://github.com/YuqiZhang-Buaa/Mamba2MIL.
