# RAIL: Region-Aware Instructive Learning for Semi-Supervised Tooth Segmentation in CBCT

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.03538 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.03538/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 18 of its 29 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 6 May 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 18 of 18)

- [SGDR: Stochastic Gradient Descent with Warm Restarts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1608.03983/) (2016)
- [V-Net: Fully Convolutional Neural Networks for Volumetric Medical Image Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1606.04797/) (2016)
- [Semi-Supervised Semantic Segmentation with Cross Pseudo Supervision](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2106.01226/) (2021)
- [Uncertainty-aware Self-ensembling Model for Semi-supervised 3D Left Atrium Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1907.07034/) (2019)
- [Label Propagation for Deep Semi-supervised Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1904.04717/) (2019)
- [Embracing Imperfect Datasets: A Review of Deep Learning Solutions for Medical Image Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1908.10454/) (2019)
- [Semi-supervised Medical Image Segmentation through Dual-task Consistency](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2009.04448/) (2020)
- [Not-so-supervised: a survey of semi-supervised, multi-instance, and transfer learning in medical image analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1804.06353/) (2018)
- [Shape-aware Semi-supervised 3D Semantic Segmentation for Medical Images](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2007.10732/) (2020)
- [Bidirectional Copy-Paste for Semi-Supervised Medical Image Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.00673/) (2023)
- [Semi-supervised Left Atrium Segmentation with Mutual Consistency Training](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.02911/) (2021)
- [Deep Interpretable Classification and Weakly-Supervised Segmentation of Histology Images via Max-Min Uncertainty](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2011.07221/) (2020)
- [All-Around Real Label Supervision: Cyclic Prototype Consistency Learning for Semi-supervised Medical Image Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.13930/) (2021)
- [Switching Temporary Teachers for Semi-Supervised Semantic Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.18640/) (2023)
- [CTooth: A Fully Annotated 3D Dataset and Benchmark for Tooth Volume Segmentation on Cone Beam Computed Tomography Images](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.08778/) (2022)
- [SDCL: Students Discrepancy-Informed Correction Learning for Semi-supervised Medical Image Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.16728/) (2024)
- [PMFSNet: Polarized Multi-scale Feature Self-attention Network For Lightweight Medical Image Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.07579/) (2024)
- [PMT: Progressive Mean Teacher via Exploring Temporal Consistency for Semi-Supervised Medical Image Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.05122/) (2024)

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [From Human Corrections to Learned Segmentations: A Critical Mathematical Review of Information, Learning, and Human Effort](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2610.20396/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Semi-supervised learning has become a compelling approach for 3D tooth segmentation from CBCT scans, where labeled data is minimal. However, existing methods still face two persistent challenges: limited corrective supervision in structurally ambiguous or mislabeled regions during supervised training and performance degradation caused by unreliable pseudo-labels on unlabeled data. To address these problems, we propose Region-Aware Instructive Learning (RAIL), a dual-group dual-student, semi-supervised framework. Each group contains two student models guided by a shared teacher network. By alternating training between the two groups, RAIL promotes intergroup knowledge transfer and collaborative region-aware instruction while reducing overfitting to the characteristics of any single model. Specifically, RAIL introduces two instructive mechanisms. Disagreement-Focused Supervision (DFS) Controller improves supervised learning by instructing predictions only within areas where student outputs diverge from both ground truth and the best student, thereby concentrating supervision on structurally ambiguous or mislabeled areas. In the unsupervised phase, Confidence-Aware Learning (CAL) Modulator reinforces agreement in regions with high model certainty while reducing the effect of low-confidence predictions during training. This helps prevent our model from learning unstable patterns and improves the overall reliability of pseudo-labels. Extensive experiments on four CBCT tooth segmentation datasets show that RAIL surpasses state-of-the-art methods under limited annotation. Our code will be available at https://github.com/Tournesol-Saturday/RAIL.