Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42184118›Full record

ReviewBriefings in bioinformatics2026

A comprehensive survey of computer vision methods for spatial transcriptomics.

Junchao Zhu, Ruining Deng, Junlin Guo, Tianyuan Yao, Siqi Lu, Chongyu Qu, Juming Xiong, Yanfan Zhu, Zhengyi Lu, Yuechen Yang and 7 more

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Briefings in bioinformatics, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

17 authors.

Junchao ZhuDepartment of Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37235, USA.ORCID 0000-0001-6610-9808
Ruining DengWeill Cornell Medicine, 1300 York Ave, New York, NY 10065, USA.
Junlin GuoDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Vanderbilt University, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37235, USA.
Tianyuan YaoDepartment of Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37235, USA.
Siqi LuDepartment of Computer Science, The College of William and Mary, 200 Stadium Drive, Williamsburg, VA 23185, USA.
Chongyu QuDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Vanderbilt University, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37235, USA.
Juming XiongDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Vanderbilt University, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37235, USA.
Yanfan ZhuDepartment of Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37235, USA.
Zhengyi LuDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Vanderbilt University, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37235, USA.
Yuechen YangDepartment of Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37235, USA.
Marilyn LiontsDepartment of Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37235, USA.
Yucheng TangNVIDIA, 2788 San Tomas Expressway, Santa Clara, CA 95051, USA.
Daguang XuNVIDIA, 2788 San Tomas Expressway, Santa Clara, CA 95051, USA.
Yu WangDepartment of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 2525 West End Avenue, Nashville, TN 37203, USA.
Shilin ZhaoDepartment of Biostatistics, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 2525 West End Avenue, Nashville, TN 37203, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-3921-3965
Haichun YangDepartment of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 1161 21st Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37232, USA.
Yuankai HuoDepartment of Computer Science, Vanderbilt University, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, TN 37235, USA.

Funding

Controlling Quality and Capturing Uncertainty in Advanced Diffusion Weighted MRIR01EB017230 · NIBIB · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY · PI LANDMAN, BENNETT A. · 2015 to 2024
$5.1M
Complementary ex vivo multimodal optical imaging and in vivo Raman spectroscopy to understand tissue dynamicsR01EB033385 · NIBIB · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY · PI MAHADEVAN-JANSEN, ANITA, REESE, JOHN JEFFREY · 2022 to 2025
$2.6M
AI-empowered 3D Computer Vision and Image-Omics Integration for Digital Kidney HistopathologyR01DK135597 · NIDDK · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY · PI Yuankai Huo · 2023 to 2026
$2.1M
Dual-wavelength endoscopic Raman probe for eosinophilic esophagitisR01DK132338 · NIDDK · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY · PI MAHADEVAN-JANSEN, ANITA · 2022 to 2025
$1.7M
fMRI physiological signatures of aging and Alzheimer's DiseaseRF1MH125931 · NIMH · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY · PI CHANG, CATHERINE ELIZABETH · 2021 to 2021
$1.1M
KPMP Glue GrantNIBIB NIH HHS R01 EB017230NIBIB NIH HHS R01 EB033385NIDDK NIH HHS R01 DK132338NIDDK NIH HHS R01 DK135597NIH HHS R01DK132338NIH HHS R01DK135597NIH HHS R01EB033385NIH HHS R01MH125931NIH HHS REB017230NIMH NIH HHS RF1 MH125931NSF 2040462NSF 2434229NSF NAIRR Pilot Award NAIRR240055The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust G-1903-03793The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust G-2103-05128Vanderbilt Discovery GrantVanderbilt Seed Success GrantVISE Seed Grant
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Spatial transcriptomics (ST) enables the simultaneous measurement of gene expression and spatial localization within tissue sections, providing unprecedented opportunities to dissect tissue architecture and functional organization. As a relatively new omics technology, bioinformatics has driven much of the innovation in ST. However, within these frameworks, spatial information is often reduced to locations and relationships between molecular profiles, without fully leveraging the wealth of sub-micron morphological detail and histological knowledge available. Advances in computer vision-based artificial intelligence (AI) are opening exciting new avenues beyond conventional bioinformatics approaches by modeling complex histological patterns and linking morphology to molecular states. More excitingly, they bring fresh perspectives to potentially address key limitations of ST, including its high cost, limited clinical applicability, and reliance on 2D analysis of inherently 3D tissues. For instance, models that predict ST directly from histology images enable virtual sequencing, drastically reducing costs while integrating morphological insights from pathology with molecular biomarkers, thus accelerating clinical translation. Moreover, computer vision techniques can reconstruct pixel-aligned 3D tissue models, overcoming the technical barriers of 2D acquisition and advancing 3D spatial omics analytics. In this paper, we present the first systematic survey of computer vision AI models for ST analytics, categorizing approaches across architectures, learning paradigms, tasks, and datasets, and tracing their technological evolution. We highlight key challenges and future directions, offering a panoramic perspective on vision-driven ST and its potential to transform both basic research and clinical practice. The curated collection of vision-driven ST papers is available at https://github.com/hrlblab/computer_vision_spatial_omics.

Indexed as

Artificial IntelligenceComputational BiologyImage Processing, Computer-AssistedSpatial TranscriptomicsAnimalsHumansImaging, Three-Dimensionalcomputational pathologycomputer visionmedical image analysisspatial transcriptomics

Identifiers

PMID42184118
PMCPMC13200551

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.