What can Mamba do for 3D Volumetric Medical Image Segmentation?

Chaohan Wang, Qi Chen, Yuyin Zhou, Qi Wu, Yutong Xie

Keywords: 3D Volumetric Medical Image Segmentation, Mamba, Transformer

Abstract:

Mamba, with its State Space Model (SSM), offers a more computationally efficient solution than Transformers for long-range dependency modeling. However, there is still a debate about its effectiveness in \textit{high-resolution 3D medical image} segmentation.
In this study, we present a comprehensive investigation into Mamba's capabilities in 3D medical image segmentation by tackling three pivotal questions: Can Mamba replace Transformers? Can it elevate multi-scale representation learning? Is complex scanning necessary to unlock its full potential? We evaluate Mamba’s performance across three large public benchmarks—AMOS, TotalSegmentator, and BraTS. Our findings reveal that UlikeMamba, a U-shape Mamba-based network, consistently surpasses UlikeTrans, a U-shape Transformer-based network, particularly when enhanced with custom-designed 3D depthwise convolutions, boosting accuracy and computational efficiency. Further, our proposed multi-scale Mamba block demonstrates superior performance in capturing both fine-grained details and global context, especially in complex segmentation tasks, surpassing Transformer-based counterparts. We also critically assess complex scanning strategies, finding that simpler methods often suffice, while our Tri-scan approach delivers notable advantages in the most challenging scenarios. By integrating these advancements, we introduce a new network for 3D medical image segmentation, positioning Mamba as a transformative force that outperforms leading models such as nnUNet, CoTr, and U-Mamba, offering competitive accuracy with superior computational efficiency. This study provides key insights into Mamba's unique advantages, paving the way for more efficient and accurate approaches to 3D medical imaging. All code used in the experiments will be made publicly available.

Primary Area: applications to computer vision, audio, language, and other modalities

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Submission Number: 4048