# A Structured Review and Quantitative Profiling of Public Brain MRI Datasets for Foundation Model Development

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.20196 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.20196/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 19 of its 78 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 23 Oct 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 19 of 19)

- [On the Opportunities and Risks of Foundation Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.07258/) (2021)
- [The RSNA-ASNR-MICCAI BraTS 2021 Benchmark on Brain Tumor Segmentation and Radiogenomic Classification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.02314/) (2021)
- [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)
- [Segment Anything in Medical Images](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.12306/) (2023)
- [Automated brain extraction of multi-sequence MRI using artificial neural networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1901.11341/) (2019)
- [ISLES 2022: A multi-center magnetic resonance imaging stroke lesion segmentation dataset](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2206.06694/) (2022)
- [Foundation Model for Advancing Healthcare: Challenges, Opportunities, and Future Directions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.03264/) (2024)
- [Foundational Models in Medical Imaging: A Comprehensive Survey and Future Vision](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.18689/) (2023)
- [The 2024 Brain Tumor Segmentation (BraTS) Challenge: Glioma Segmentation on Post-treatment MRI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.18368/) (2024)
- [The ASNR-MICCAI Brain Tumor Segmentation (BraTS) Challenge 2023: Intracranial Meningioma](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.07642/) (2023)
- [The Brain Tumor Segmentation (BraTS) Challenge 2023: Glioma Segmentation in Sub-Saharan Africa Patient Population (BraTS-Africa)](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.19369/) (2023)
- [BrainSegFounder: Towards 3D Foundation Models for Neuroimage Segmentation](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.10395/) (2024)
- [Analysis of the MICCAI Brain Tumor Segmentation -- Metastases (BraTS-METS) 2025 Lighthouse Challenge: Brain Metastasis Segmentation on Pre- and Post-treatment MRI](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2504.12527/) (2025)
- [Analysis of the BraTS 2023 Intracranial Meningioma Segmentation Challenge](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.09787/) (2024)
- [A Foundation Model for Brain Lesion Segmentation with Mixture of Modality Experts](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2405.10246/) (2024)
- [Exploring the reproducibility of functional connectivity alterations in Parkinson's Disease](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1611.04794/) (2016)
- [The University of California San Francisco Brain Metastases Stereotactic Radiosurgery (UCSF-BMSR) MRI Dataset](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2304.07248/) (2023)
- [The Imaging Database for Epilepsy And Surgery (IDEAS)](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2406.06731/) (2024)
- [Exploring Adult Glioma through MRI: A Review of Publicly Available Datasets to Guide Efficient Image Analysis](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.00109/) (2024)

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

- [Dataset-Specific Encoding of Image Content Underlies Cross-Dataset Failure in Brain MRI Foundation Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2610.13027/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

The development of foundation models for brain MRI depends critically on the scale, diversity, and consistency of available data, yet systematic assessments of these factors remain scarce. In this study, we analyze 54 publicly accessible brain MRI datasets encompassing over 538,031 to provide a structured, multi-level overview tailored to foundation model development. At the dataset level, we characterize modality composition, disease coverage, and dataset scale, revealing strong imbalances between large healthy cohorts and smaller clinical populations. At the image level, we quantify voxel spacing, orientation, and intensity distributions across 15 representative datasets, demonstrating substantial heterogeneity that can influence representation learning. We then perform a quantitative evaluation of preprocessing variability, examining how intensity normalization, bias field correction, skull stripping, spatial registration, and interpolation alter voxel statistics and geometry. While these steps improve within-dataset consistency, residual differences persist between datasets. Finally, feature-space case study using a 3D DenseNet121 shows measurable residual covariate shift after standardized preprocessing, confirming that harmonization alone cannot eliminate inter-dataset bias. Together, these analyses provide a unified characterization of variability in public brain MRI resources and emphasize the need for preprocessing-aware and domain-adaptive strategies in the design of generalizable brain MRI foundation models.