Modern problems in trustworthy medical imaging
Mid-Atlantic Research Day - 2026
Jeremias Sulam
50 years ago ...
first CT scan
ELECTRIC & MUSICAL INDUSTRIES
50 years ago ...
imaging
diagnostics
complete hardware & software description
human expert diagnosis and recommendations
imaging was "simple"
... 50 years forward
Data
Compute & Hardware
Sensors & Connectivity
Research & Engineering
... 50 years forward
data-driven imaging
automatic analysis and rec.
societal implicationsData
Compute & Hardware
Sensors & Connectivity
Research & Engineering
data-driven imagingautomatic analysis and rec.societal implicationsProblems in trustworthy biomedical imaging
inverse problems
uncertainty quantification
robustness
generalization
demographic fairness
hardware & protocol optimization
model-agnostic interpretability
policy & regulation
monitoring & auditing
uncertainty quantification
model-agnostic interpretability
robustness
generalization
policy & regulation
demographic fairness
hardware & protocol optimization
data-driven imaging
automatic analysis and rec.
societal implications
Problems in trustworthy biomedical imaging
monitoring & auditing
inverse problems
Inverse Problems
y = A x^* + v
measurements
\hat x = \arg\min_x \frac 12 \| y - A x \|^2_2 + R(x)
reconstruction
\bar{M} = \chi \bar{H}
degree to which a material is magnetized when placed in a magnetic field
[from talk by S. Bollmann]
- Heme Iron (in RBC)
paramagnetic
- Myelin
diamagnetic
- Very important implications for neurodegenerative disorders
[Li et al, 2012]
Inverse Problems
in Magnetic Susceptibility Imaging
Inverse Problems
in Magnetic Susceptibility Imaging
Calculation of susceptibility through multiple orientation sampling (COSMOS)
[Liu et al, 2009]
As close as possible to "ground truth" in vivo
Impractical in the clinic
A{x} + v = y :
A'x + v' = y' :
A'x + v'' = y'' :
Inverse Problems
in Magnetic Susceptibility Imaging
Calculation of susceptibility through multiple orientation sampling (COSMOS)
[Liu et al, 2009]
As close as possible to "ground truth" in vivo
Impractical in the clinic
A'x + v' = y' :
A'x + v'' = y'' :
A{x} + v = y :
Can we estimate susceptibility from a single orientation?
Signal and Image Models
Signal and Image Models
Signal and Image Models
Signal and Image Models
Signal and Image Models
How can we combine powerful data-driven models with mathematical analysis and guarantees?
Signal and Image Models
f_\theta
f_\theta
f_\theta
f_\theta
[Lai, Aggarwal, van Zijl, Li, Sulam, Learned Proximal Networks for Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping, MICCAI 2020]
Single Phase Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping
Single Phase Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping
uncertainty quantification
model-agnostic interpretability
robustness
generalization
policy & regulation
demographic fairness
hardware & protocol optimization
data-driven imaging
automatic analysis and rec.
societal implications
Problems in trustworthy biomedical imaging
monitoring & auditing
inverse problems
Demographic Fairness
Multiaccuracy:
Similar accuracy across different groups
Example: Predicting abnormal findings in chest X-raysDemographic Fairness
Multiaccuracy:
Similar accuracy across different groups
Example: Predicting abnormal findings in chest X-raysDemographic Fairness
Problem: This is not always possible...
Problem: This is not always possible...
sex and race attributes missing
Problem: This is not always possible...
Demographic Fairness through Proxy Attributes
not computable
computable gaurantee
Demographic Fairness through Proxy Attributes
not computable
computable gaurantee
correcting multi-group accuracy
Problems in trustworthy biomedical imaging
Problems in trustworthy biomedical imaging
inverse problems
uncertainty quantification
robustness
generalization
demographic fairness
hardware & protocol optimization
model-agnostic interpretability
policy & regulation
monitoring & auditing
uncertainty quantification
hardware & protocol optimization
Problems in trustworthy biomedical imaging
inverse problems
uncertainty quantification
robustness
generalization
demographic fairness
hardware & protocol optimization
model-agnostic interpretability
policy & regulation
monitoring & auditing
uncertainty quantification
policy & regulation
hardware & protocol optimization
robustness
generalization
data-driven imaging
automatic analysis and rec.
societal implications
Interpretability
Formal frameworks for interpretability for decision making
Understanding social implications of algorithms in the wild
Efficient and robust generative AI
uncertainty quantification
Generative Modeling
ML for Science
Biomarker discovery through AI
Societal Constraints
many open questions...
policy & regulation
robustness
generalization
uncertainty quantification
Thank you for hosting me
MARD UMD 2026
By Jeremias Sulam
