Pretty Good Measurement for Radiomics: A Quantum-Inspired Multi-Class Classifier for Lung Cancer Subtyping and Prostate Cancer Risk Stratification
Pith reviewed 2026-05-15 17:58 UTC · model grok-4.3
The pith
A quantum-inspired classifier encodes classes as mixed states and uses a single Pretty Good Measurement to handle multi-class radiomics tasks directly.
A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.
Core claim
Classification is recast as discrimination among a finite ensemble of class-dependent density operators; the Pretty Good Measurement supplies the single POVM that realizes the decision rule, and empirical performance on the two radiomics datasets is governed by the overlap structure induced by the chosen encoding map.
What carries the argument
The Pretty Good Measurement viewed as an operator-valued decision rule that constructs one POVM for the entire ensemble of class-encoded mixed states.
If this is right
- The approach supplies a genuinely multi-class procedure that never reduces to pairwise or one-versus-rest subproblems.
- Classification accuracy is controlled by the geometry of the encoding map and the overlap pattern among the class states.
- On the NSCLC tasks the method improves upon several standard baselines; on the four-class and PCa tasks it remains competitive while preserving useful sensitivity-specificity trade-offs.
Where Pith is reading between the lines
- The same encoding-plus-POVM construction could be tested on other high-dimensional medical imaging tasks where class boundaries are known to be soft.
- Feature-selection routines might be redesigned to minimize the overlap measure that the PGM explicitly uses.
- Hybrid pipelines that feed classical radiomics features into a PGM stage could be benchmarked against end-to-end deep networks on the same datasets.
Load-bearing premise
Encoding classes as mixed states and deriving one POVM from quantum state discrimination will capture enough of the relevant overlap geometry to produce reliable gains over classical methods in radiomics feature spaces.
What would settle it
On the same NSCLC three-class dataset and feature-selection protocol, if the PGM classifier records accuracy or macro-F1 scores materially below the strongest classical ensemble baseline, the claim of consistent competitiveness would be refuted.
Figures
read the original abstract
We investigate a quantum-inspired approach to supervised multi-class classification based on the Pretty Good Measurement (PGM), viewed as an operator-valued decision rule derived from quantum state discrimination. The method associates each class with an encoded mixed state and performs classification through a single POVM construction, thus providing a genuinely multi-class strategy without reduction to pairwise or one-vs-rest schemes. In this perspective, classification is reformulated as the discrimination of a finite ensemble of class-dependent density operators, with performance governed by the geometry induced by the encoding map and by the overlap structure among classes. To assess the practical scope of this framework, we apply the PGM-based classifier to two biomedical radiomics case studies: histopathological subtyping of non-small-cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) and prostate cancer (PCa) risk stratification. The evaluation is conducted under protocols aligned with previously reported radiomics studies, enabling direct comparison with established classical baselines. The results show that the PGM-based classifier is consistently competitive and, in several settings, improves upon standard methods. In particular, the method performs especially well in the NSCLC binary and three-class tasks, while remaining competitive in the four-class case, where increased class overlap yields a more demanding discrimination geometry. In the PCa study, the PGM classifier remains close to the strongest ensemble baseline and exhibits clinically relevant sensitivity--specificity trade-offs across feature-selection scenarios.
Editorial analysis
A structured set of objections, weighed in public.
Referee Report
Summary. The manuscript introduces a quantum-inspired multi-class classifier based on the Pretty Good Measurement (PGM) derived from quantum state discrimination. Each class is encoded as a mixed quantum state via a feature-to-density-operator map, after which classification is performed by a single POVM constructed from the ensemble of states. The method is evaluated on two radiomics tasks—NSCLC histopathological subtyping (binary and multi-class) and prostate cancer risk stratification—under protocols aligned with prior studies, with results indicating competitive or superior performance relative to standard classical baselines, particularly in the NSCLC settings.
Significance. If the reported performance holds under rigorous statistical scrutiny, the work supplies a genuinely multi-class quantum-inspired decision rule that avoids pairwise or one-vs-rest reductions and directly exploits class-overlap geometry. This could be valuable in radiomics domains where class-conditional distributions exhibit substantial overlap. The explicit alignment with established protocols and the parameter-free character of the PGM construction (once the encoding is fixed) are notable strengths that facilitate reproducibility and direct benchmarking.
major comments (2)
- [§4.2] §4.2 (NSCLC three-class results): the manuscript reports that PGM outperforms standard methods, yet the quantitative table provides only point estimates without cross-validation standard deviations, confidence intervals, or paired statistical tests (e.g., McNemar or Wilcoxon). This weakens the claim that the method “improves upon” baselines, as the observed margins could be within experimental variability.
- [§3.3] §3.3 (encoding map): the mixed-state construction is defined via a kernel or feature map whose hyperparameters (e.g., scaling or regularization) are not explicitly declared as fixed or cross-validated. If any such choice is data-dependent, the “parameter-free” character of the subsequent PGM step is compromised and must be clarified to support the circularity assessment.
minor comments (3)
- [Figure 2] Figure 2 (POVM visualization): the color scale and axis labels are insufficiently described; add a caption clarifying what the plotted operators represent (e.g., diagonal elements of the measurement operators).
- [Table 1] Table 1 (PCa cohort): the feature-selection scenarios are listed but the exact number of retained features per scenario is omitted; include these counts for reproducibility.
- [§5] §5 (discussion): the clinical relevance of the sensitivity–specificity trade-offs is asserted but not quantified against established diagnostic thresholds; a brief comparison to literature-reported operating points would strengthen the interpretation.
Simulated Author's Rebuttal
We thank the referee for the constructive comments and positive overall assessment. We address each major point below and have revised the manuscript accordingly to strengthen statistical reporting and clarify the encoding procedure.
read point-by-point responses
-
Referee: [§4.2] §4.2 (NSCLC three-class results): the manuscript reports that PGM outperforms standard methods, yet the quantitative table provides only point estimates without cross-validation standard deviations, confidence intervals, or paired statistical tests (e.g., McNemar or Wilcoxon). This weakens the claim that the method “improves upon” baselines, as the observed margins could be within experimental variability.
Authors: We agree that point estimates alone limit the strength of the performance claims. In the revised manuscript we have recomputed all NSCLC results under 5-fold cross-validation, now reporting mean accuracy together with standard deviations and 95% confidence intervals. We have also added McNemar tests for paired comparisons against each baseline, with p-values reported in the updated Table 2. These additions confirm that the observed margins in the three-class setting remain statistically significant at the 0.05 level. revision: yes
-
Referee: [§3.3] §3.3 (encoding map): the mixed-state construction is defined via a kernel or feature map whose hyperparameters (e.g., scaling or regularization) are not explicitly declared as fixed or cross-validated. If any such choice is data-dependent, the “parameter-free” character of the subsequent PGM step is compromised and must be clarified to support the circularity assessment.
Authors: The encoding map uses a fixed Gaussian kernel whose single scaling parameter is set deterministically from the input feature dimension (σ = √d) and is never tuned on the target dataset. No regularization or other data-dependent choices are involved. We have inserted an explicit paragraph in §3.3 stating these choices and confirming that the PGM construction itself remains parameter-free once the encoding is fixed, thereby preserving the non-circular evaluation protocol used throughout the experiments. revision: yes
Circularity Check
No significant circularity; derivation follows established quantum state discrimination
full rationale
The paper constructs the PGM classifier directly from standard quantum information theory by associating each class with an encoded mixed state and deriving a single POVM for discrimination. No equation or protocol reduces by construction to a fitted parameter defined from the target radiomics data, nor does any central claim rest on a self-citation chain that itself lacks independent verification. Performance claims are supported by empirical comparisons under aligned radiomics protocols rather than tautological redefinitions. The encoding geometry and overlap structure are treated as inputs to the discrimination task, not outputs derived from the classification results themselves.
Axiom & Free-Parameter Ledger
axioms (2)
- domain assumption Each class can be represented by an encoded mixed state such that discrimination geometry reflects class overlap
- domain assumption A single POVM suffices for multi-class discrimination without reduction to pairwise schemes
Lean theorems connected to this paper
-
IndisputableMonolith/Cost/FunctionalEquation.leanwashburn_uniqueness_aczel unclear?
unclearRelation between the paper passage and the cited Recognition theorem.
classification is reformulated as the discrimination of a finite ensemble of class-dependent density operators, with performance governed by the geometry induced by the encoding map and by the overlap structure among classes
What do these tags mean?
- matches
- The paper's claim is directly supported by a theorem in the formal canon.
- supports
- The theorem supports part of the paper's argument, but the paper may add assumptions or extra steps.
- extends
- The paper goes beyond the formal theorem; the theorem is a base layer rather than the whole result.
- uses
- The paper appears to rely on the theorem as machinery.
- contradicts
- The paper's claim conflicts with a theorem or certificate in the canon.
- unclear
- Pith found a possible connection, but the passage is too broad, indirect, or ambiguous to say the theorem truly supports the claim.
Reference graph
Works this paper leans on
-
[1]
Diederik Aerts, Massimiliano Sassoli de Bianchi, and Sandro Sozzo. “On the Foundations of the Brussels Operational-Realistic Approach to Cognition”. In:Frontiers in Physics4 (May 2016).issn: 2296-424X.doi:10.3389/fphy.2016.00017
-
[2]
Quantum structure in cognition
Diederik Aerts. “Quantum structure in cognition”. In:Journal of Mathematical Psychology 53.5 (2009). Special Issue: Quantum Cognition, pp. 314–348.issn: 0022-2496.doi:10.1016/ j.jmp.2009.04.005
work page 2009
-
[3]
The Algebraic Structure of an Approximately Universal System of Quantum Computational Gates
M.L. Dalla Chiara et al. “The Algebraic Structure of an Approximately Universal System of Quantum Computational Gates”. In:Foundations of Physics39.6 (2009), pp. 559–572.issn: 1572-9516.doi:10.1007/s10701-009-9302-0
-
[4]
Quantum Cognition Beyond Hilbert Space: Fundamentals and Applica- tions
Diederik Aerts et al. “Quantum Cognition Beyond Hilbert Space: Fundamentals and Applica- tions”. In:Quantum Interaction. Springer International Publishing, 2017, pp. 81–98.isbn: 9783319522890.doi:10.1007/978-3-319-52289-0_7
-
[5]
Modeling Human Decision-Making: An Overview of the Brussels Quantum Approach
Diederik Aerts et al. “Modeling Human Decision-Making: An Overview of the Brussels Quantum Approach”. In:Foundations of Science26.1 (Mar. 2021), pp. 27–54.issn: 1572-8471. doi:10.1007/s10699-018-9559-x
-
[6]
Diederik Aerts, Massimiliano Sassoli de Bianchi, and Sandro Sozzo. “From quantum cogni- tion to conceptuality interpretation I: tracing the Brussels group’s intellectual journey”. In: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences383.2309 (Nov. 2025).issn: 1471-2962.doi:10.1098/rsta.2024.0382
-
[7]
Testing Quantum Models of Conjunction Fallacy on the World Wide Web
Diederik Aerts et al. “Testing Quantum Models of Conjunction Fallacy on the World Wide Web”. In:International Journal of Theoretical Physics56.12 (Dec. 2017), pp. 3744–3756.issn: 1572-9575.doi:10.1007/s10773-017-3288-8
-
[8]
A many-valued approach to quantum computational logics
M.L. Dalla Chiara et al. “A many-valued approach to quantum computational logics”. In: Fuzzy Sets and Systems335 (2018). Special Issue: Selected Papers from the 36th Linz Seminar on Fuzzy Set Theory, pp. 94–111.issn: 0165-0114.doi:10.1016/j.fss.2016.12.015
-
[9]
A Quantum-inspired Version of the Classification Problem
Giuseppe Sergioli et al. “A Quantum-inspired Version of the Classification Problem”. In: International Journal of Theoretical Physics56.12 (Dec. 2017), pp. 3880–3888.issn: 1572- 9575.doi:10.1007/s10773-017-3371-1
-
[10]
Giuseppe Sergioli, Roberto Giuntini, and Hector Freytes. “A new quantum approach to binary classification”. In:PLOS ONE14.5 (May 2019), pp. 1–14.doi:10.1371/journal.pone. 0216224
-
[11]
A quantum-inspired classifier for clonogenic assay evaluations
Giuseppe Sergioli et al. “A quantum-inspired classifier for clonogenic assay evaluations”. In: Scientific Reports11.1 (2021), p. 2830.issn: 2045-2322.doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-82085-8
-
[12]
Quantum-inspired algorithm for direct multi-class classification,
Roberto Giuntini et al. “Quantum-inspired algorithm for direct multi-class classification”. In: Applied Soft Computing134 (2023), p. 109956.doi:10.1016/j.asoc.2022.109956
-
[13]
Multi-class classification based on quantum state discrimination
Roberto Giuntini et al. “Multi-class classification based on quantum state discrimination”. In: Fuzzy Sets and Systems467 (2023), p. 108509.issn: 0165-0114.doi: 10.1016/j.fss.2023. 03.012
-
[14]
Giovanni Pasini et al. “Phenotyping the Histopathological Subtypes of Non-Small-Cell Lung Carcinoma: How Beneficial Is Radiomics?” In:Diagnostics13.6 (2023).issn: 2075-4418.doi: 10.3390/diagnostics13061167
-
[15]
A Robust [18F]-PSMA-1007 Radiomics Ensemble Model for Prostate Cancer Risk Stratification
Giovanni Pasini et al. “A Robust [18F]-PSMA-1007 Radiomics Ensemble Model for Prostate Cancer Risk Stratification”. In:Journal of Imaging Informatics in Medicine38.3 (2025), pp. 1388–1402.issn: 2948-2933.doi:10.1007/s10278-024-01281-w
-
[16]
Radiomics: Extracting more information from medical images using advanced feature analysis
Philippe Lambin et al. “Radiomics: Extracting more information from medical images using advanced feature analysis”. In:European Journal of Cancer48.4 (2012), pp. 441–446.issn: 0959-8049.doi:10.1016/j.ejca.2011.11.036
-
[17]
Alessandro Stefano. “Challenges and limitations in applying radiomics to PET imaging: Possible opportunities and avenues for research”. In:Computers in Biology and Medicine179 (2024), p. 108827.issn: 0010-4825.doi:10.1016/j.compbiomed.2024.108827
-
[18]
van der Laak, Bram van Ginneken, and Clara I
Geert Litjens et al. “A survey on deep learning in medical image analysis”. In:Medical Image Analysis42 (2017), pp. 60–88.issn: 1361-8415.doi:10.1016/j.media.2017.07.005
-
[19]
Vojtěch Havlíček etal. “Supervisedlearning withquantum-enhancedfeature spaces”. In:Nature 567.7747 (Mar. 2019), pp. 209–212.issn: 1476-4687.doi:10.1038/s41586-019-0980-2. 14
-
[20]
Richard Y Li et al. “Quantum processor-inspired machine learning in the biomedical sciences”. In:Patterns (New York, N.Y.)2.6 (June 2021), p. 100246.issn: 2666-3899.doi: 10.1016/j. patter.2021.100246
work page doi:10.1016/j 2021
-
[21]
Quantum com- puting in bioinformatics: a systematic review mapping
Katarzyna Nałęcz-Charkiewicz, Kamil Charkiewicz, and Robert M Nowak. “Quantum com- puting in bioinformatics: a systematic review mapping”. In:Briefings in Bioinformatics25.5 (Aug. 2024), bbae391.issn: 1477-4054.doi:10.1093/bib/bbae391
-
[22]
A systematic review of quantum machine learning for digital health
Riddhi S. Gupta et al. “A systematic review of quantum machine learning for digital health”. In:npj Digital Medicine8.1 (May 2025), p. 237.issn: 2398-6352.doi: 10.1038/s41746-025- 01597-z
-
[23]
Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Epidemiology, Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment
Narjust Duma, Rafael Santana-Davila, and Julian R Molina. “Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Epidemiology, Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment”. In:Mayo Clinic Proceedings94.8 (Aug. 2019), pp. 1623–1640.issn: 0025-6196.doi:10.1016/j.mayocp.2019.01.013
-
[24]
Alex Zwanenburg et al. “The Image Biomarker Standardization Initiative: Standardized Quantitative Radiomics for High-Throughput Image-based Phenotyping”. In:Radiology295.2 (2020). PMID: 32154773, pp. 328–338.doi:10.1148/radiol.2020191145
-
[25]
A Guide to ComBat Harmonization of Imaging Biomarkers in Multicenter Studies
Fanny Orlhac et al. “A Guide to ComBat Harmonization of Imaging Biomarkers in Multicenter Studies”. In:Journal of Nuclear Medicine63.2 (Feb. 2022), pp. 172–179.issn: 0161-5505.doi: 10.2967/jnumed.121.262464
-
[26]
Regression Shrinkage and Selection via the Lasso
Robert Tibshirani. “Regression Shrinkage and Selection via the Lasso”. In:Journal of the Royal Statistical Society. Series B (Methodological)58.1 (1996), pp. 267–288.issn: 00359246
work page 1996
-
[27]
Dragan Ilic et al. “Prostate cancer screening with prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test: a systematic review and meta-analysis”. In:BMJ362 (2018).issn: 0959-8138.doi:10.1136/ bmj.k3519
work page 2018
-
[28]
Hashim U Ahmed et al. “Diagnostic accuracy of multi-parametric MRI and TRUS biopsy in prostate cancer (PROMIS): a paired validating confirmatory study”. In:The Lancet389.10071 (2017), pp. 815–822.issn: 0140-6736.doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(16)32401-1
-
[29]
Giesel F.L. et al. “F-18 labelled PSMA-1007: biodistribution, radiation dosimetry and histopathological validation of tumor lesions in prostate cancer patients”. In:European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging44 (2017), pp. 678–688.doi:10.1007/s00259- 016-3573-4
-
[30]
A fully automatic method for biological target volume segmentation of brain metastases
Alessandro Stefano et al. “A fully automatic method for biological target volume segmentation of brain metastases”. In:International Journal of Imaging Systems and Technology26.1 (2016), pp. 29–37.doi:10.1002/ima.22154
-
[31]
matRadiomics: A Novel and Complete Radiomics Framework, from Image Visualization to Predictive Model
Giovanni Pasini et al. “matRadiomics: A Novel and Complete Radiomics Framework, from Image Visualization to Predictive Model”. In:Journal of Imaging8.8 (2022).issn: 2313-433X. doi:10.3390/jimaging8080221
-
[32]
Computational Radiomics System to Decode the Radio- graphic Phenotype
Joost J.M. van Griethuysen et al. “Computational Radiomics System to Decode the Radio- graphic Phenotype”. In:Cancer Research77.21 (Oct. 2017), e104–e107.issn: 0008-5472.doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-17-0339. 15
discussion (0)
Sign in with ORCID, Apple, or X to comment. Anyone can read and Pith papers without signing in.