Foundation Models for Medical Imaging: Status, Challenges, and Directions

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Niu, Chuang, Wu, Pengwei, De Man, Bruno, Wang, Ge
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Niu, Chuang
Wu, Pengwei
De Man, Bruno
Wang, Ge
author_facet Niu, Chuang
Wu, Pengwei
De Man, Bruno
Wang, Ge
contents Foundation models (FMs) are rapidly reshaping medical imaging, shifting the field from narrowly trained, task-specific networks toward large, general-purpose models that can be adapted across modalities, anatomies, and clinical tasks. In this review, we synthesize the emerging landscape of medical imaging FMs along three major axes: principles of FM design, applications of FMs, and forward-looking challenges and opportunities. Taken together, this review provides a technically grounded, clinically aware, and future-facing roadmap for developing FMs that are not only powerful and versatile but also trustworthy and ready for responsible translation into clinical practice.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_15913
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Foundation Models for Medical Imaging: Status, Challenges, and Directions
Niu, Chuang
Wu, Pengwei
De Man, Bruno
Wang, Ge
Image and Video Processing
Artificial Intelligence
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
Foundation models (FMs) are rapidly reshaping medical imaging, shifting the field from narrowly trained, task-specific networks toward large, general-purpose models that can be adapted across modalities, anatomies, and clinical tasks. In this review, we synthesize the emerging landscape of medical imaging FMs along three major axes: principles of FM design, applications of FMs, and forward-looking challenges and opportunities. Taken together, this review provides a technically grounded, clinically aware, and future-facing roadmap for developing FMs that are not only powerful and versatile but also trustworthy and ready for responsible translation into clinical practice.
title Foundation Models for Medical Imaging: Status, Challenges, and Directions
topic Image and Video Processing
Artificial Intelligence
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.15913