Promptable segmentation with region exploration enables minimal-effort expert-level prostate cancer delineation

Junqing Yang, Natasha Thorley, Ahmed Nadeem Abbasi, Shonit Punwani, Zion Tse, Yipeng Hu, Shaheer U. Saeed

Abstract: Accurate segmentation of prostate cancer on magnetic resonance (MR) images is crucial for planning image-guided interventions such as targeted biopsies, cryoablation, and radiotherapy. However, subtle and variable tumour appearances, differences in imaging protocols, and limited expert availability make consistent interpretation difficult. While automated methods aim to address this, they rely on large expertly annotated datasets that are often inconsistent, whereas manual delineation remains labour-intensive. This work aims to bridge the gap between automated and manual segmentation through a framework driven by user-provided point prompts, enabling accurate segmentation with minimal annotation effort.

External IDs:doi:10.1007/s11548-026-03628-w