# A Deep RL based Framework for Targeted White Matter Tractography

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2608.12960 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2608.12960/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Placed in RL for clinical treatment and surgery, one of 15 directions in Deep reinforcement learning methods.
- Builds on 7 of its 80 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 13 Aug 2026.

## Placed in

- Deep reinforcement learning methods / [RL for clinical treatment and surgery](https://mlsanity.com/deeprl/rl-for-clinical-treatment-and-surgery/)

## Builds on (most cited first, 7 of 7)

- [An Image is Worth 16x16 Words: Transformers for Image Recognition at Scale](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2010.11929/) (2020)
- [Evaluating Large Language Models Trained on Code](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.03374/) (2021)
- [On the Opportunities and Risks of Foundation Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.07258/) (2021)
- [Continuous control with deep reinforcement learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1509.02971/) (2015)
- [OpenAI Gym](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1606.01540/) (2016)
- [Offline Imitation Learning from Multiple Baselines with Applications to Compiler Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2403.19462/) (2024)
- [Farthest Streamline Sampling for the Uniform Distribution of Forearm Muscle Fiber Tracts from Diffusion Tensor Imaging](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.13969/) (2023)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Fiber tractography's ability to reconstruct the brain's structural pathways, has made it a crucial component of modern neuroimaging, enabling detailed, non-invasive mapping of structural connectivity and supporting a wide range of neurological research and clinical applications. However, despite its importance, tractography remains a challenging task due to the inherent complexity of white matter structure and its susceptibility to false positives, which can lead to the misrepresentation of critical pathways. To overcome these limitations, in this thesis, we propose a hybrid framework that integrates reinforcement learning with supervised learning for refining RL policies, specifically tailored for tract-specific tractography. Notably, our framework does not rely on ground-truth fibers for training. Moreover, the tract-specific formulation bypasses the need for an explicit segmentation process, simplifying the overall pipeline. Our work includes two main contributions, each building upon the previous. First, we introduce a hybrid approach that combines reinforcement learning with supervised learning (specifically, GPT-based policy learning) to refine policies in a tract-specific context. Second, we propose a scalable framework for data-driven multi-policy fusion, which leverages the complementary strengths of multiple RL policies to improve tractography performance and robustness. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our framework through extensive validation on benchmark public datasets including TractoInferno, HCP, and ISMRM-2015, highlighting its ability to generalize across data sources and accurately reconstruct brain white matter tracts. We believe that these contributions represent significant advancements in the field of tractography, improving robustness, reliability, and accuracy while reducing dependence on ground-truth annotations.