Independent Benchmarking of Prompt-Based Medical Segmentation Models
Preprint
- 10 October 2025
- preprint
- Published by Springer Nature in Research Square
Abstract
Medical image segmentation rapidly shifts toward vision(-language) foundation models that unify diverse modalities and tasks within a single framework. In this work, we systematically benchmark high-impact vision-language and segment-anything-based architectures across multiple clinically relevant CT and MRI tasks. We show that while these models achieve strong performance, each comes with specific (dis)advantages. Non-3D models are highly flexible but require substantial user guidance and are prone to over- or under-detection. 3D architectures offer overall more reliable volumetric consistency, but can still have detection problems. Vision-language models appear sensitive to the coverage of training data, whereas click-prompted SAM-based models are more universal, with a, though limited, ability to address zero-shot targets. When tested with more complex text prompts, most vision-language models exhibit missing semantic language understanding. Overall, these models hold considerable promise but still express limitations. Our work highlights key areas where future research is needed to advance vision(-language) foundation models.Keywords
All Related Versions
This publication has 25 references indexed in Scilit:
- MM-DINOv2: Adapting Foundation Models for Multi-modal Medical Image Analysis2025
- Improving risk assessment of local failure in brain metastases patients using vision transformers − A multicentric development and validation studyRadiotherapy and Oncology, 2025
- Vision-language foundation models for medical imaging: a review of current practices and innovationsBiomedical Engineering Letters, 2025
- SAM-Med3D: Towards General-Purpose Segmentation Models for Volumetric Medical Images2025
- A comprehensive survey on pretrained foundation models: a history from BERT to ChatGPTInternational Journal of Machine Learning and Cybernetics, 2024
- Deep learning for autosegmentation for radiotherapy treatment planning: State-of-the-art and novel perspectivesStrahlentherapie und Onkologie, 2024
- AbdomenAtlas: A large-scale, detailed-annotated, & multi-center dataset for efficient transfer learning and open algorithmic benchmarkingMedical Image Analysis, 2024
- CHAOS Challenge - combined (CT-MR) healthy abdominal organ segmentationMedical Image Analysis, 2021
- Implications of false‐positive results for future cancer screeningsCancer, 2018
- A survey on deep learning in medical image analysisMedical Image Analysis, 2017