Systems-Level Support for Hybrid Quantum-Classical Learning: A Systematic Review with a Medical Imaging Translation Lens
Abstract
Hybrid quantum-classical learning pipelines combine conventional accelerators, quantum runtimes, and quantum processing units (QPUs), creating scheduling, memory, isolation, encoding, and deployment challenges that are not captured by application-level quantum machine learning surveys alone. This paper presents a systematic review of runtime and systems mechanisms for hybrid quantum-classical workloads, with medical imaging used as a translation lens rather than as an exclusive inclusion boundary. Following a PRISMA-aligned review process, we screened 364 records and synthesized 40 studies published between 2020 and 2025. Each study was coded by systems layer, application grounding, noisy-label relevance, and evaluation maturity. The coding shows that the corpus combines direct medical evidence with broader transferable systems evidence: 8 studies directly evaluated medical data, 12 were medically motivated, and 20 were generic systems studies. Across the corpus, the strongest support concerns hybrid orchestration, qubit/resource allocation, classical-quantum data movement, and container-based reproducibility, whereas evidence remains limited for realistic clinical operation, end-to-end remote-QPU workflows, multi-tenant isolation, and noisy-label retraining loops. We contribute an evidence map, a direct/indirect/interpretive evidence distinction, and cross-layer design guidelines for future hybrid quantum-classical imaging pipelines in regulated settings.
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Evidence Hub reads this as a systematic review. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid.
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