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Towards Unified Sequence Representation I: Add SequenceProcessorV2 for packed hierarchical records - #1343

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@Logiquo Logiquo commented Oct 28, 2026 •

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This is the first PR of a stack towards one unified representation for sequential features. It adds SequenceProcessorV2 ("sequence_v2"), a processor for nested codes, values and timestamps at any depth, stored as packed records (CSR / jagged layout) with no padding or truncation. It also makes SampleDataset store and batch such fields. Existing processors and models are unchanged. Model support comes in later PRs.

Why

Today every combination of nesting, values and time gets its own processor (SequenceProcessor, NestedSequenceProcessor, DeepNested*, StageNet*, Timeseries*, ...). Each one pads to rectangular shapes fixed during fit(), so inputs longer than anything seen in training are truncated. SequenceProcessorV2 describes all of them with one configuration, and its output keeps every record.

What a field looks like

A task returns each field as Records, a plain dict of columns. children holds the records one level down:

{"time": [0.0, 30.0], "children": [{"tokens": ["A", "B"]}, {"tokens": ["C"]}]}

The processor is configured per level, innermost first:

input_schema = {
    "visits": ("sequence_v2", {"levels": [{"ordering": "set", "tokens": 1}, {"ordering": "series"}]}),
    "labs":   ("sequence_v2", {"levels": [{"ordering": "series", "tokens": 2, "values": [1],
                                           "impute": [{"method": "forward_fill", "by_tokens": (0,)},
                                                      {"method": "mean", "by_tokens": (0,)}],
                                           "normalize": {"method": "zscore", "by_tokens": (0,)},
                                           "missing_indicator": True}]}),
    "vitals": ("sequence_v2", {"levels": [{"ordering": "series", "values": [3],
                                           "resample": {"step": 1.0, "method": "avg"},
                                           "impute": {"method": "linear"}}]}),
}

process() returns a tuple of tensors in schema() order: by level, then by role (tokens, values, mask, time, offsets). For example, ((0, "tokens"), (0, "offsets"), (1, "time")) for visits. offsets at level l partitions level-l records into level-l + 1 records.

Changes

pyhealth/processors/sequence_processor_v2.py (new)

  • Configuration (LevelConfig): ordering (set / sequence / series), the number of token namespaces tokens (K) and the value shape values (S). These are fixed by the task, so fit() only learns vocabularies and statistics. The configuration is checked in __init__.
  • Tokens: <pad> = 0 and <unk> = 1 in each namespace. code_mapping maps codes through CrossMap. A mapping where one code has several targets expands records, so it is only allowed on a set level without values.
  • Resampling of a series level onto a time grid (Resample), with first, last, min, max, avg or merge (union of child sets). A step without records is left for imputation.
  • Imputation (Impute), a step or a chain of steps:
    • zero;
    • mean / min / max, dataset statistics of the raw values, per token (by_tokens) and reduced over value axes (by_dims);
    • forward_fill / backward_fill / linear along time, within one group, optionally only from the same token.
  • Normalization (Normalize): zscore or minmax, with the same keys. A token without statistics falls back to the statistics over all tokens.
  • Missing indicator: a bool mask role shaped like values, set where a value was missing before imputation.
  • Batching and checks: collate() packs a batch (concatenates payloads, shifts offsets, appends batch offsets [B + 1]), and validate() checks single-sample and batched outputs.
  • Statistics are streamed in one fit() pass (count, mean and M2 via Chan et al., min, max) and pickle with the processor.

pyhealth/medcode/cross_map.py

  • CrossMap.has_many_targets: whether some code maps to more than one target. The icd-mappings backend never does.

pyhealth/processors/base_processor.py, pyhealth/datasets/sample_dataset.py

  • stores_tensor = True now also covers a tuple of tensors with the same length for every sample. litdata already stores such tuples natively, so SampleBuilder.encode writes them as tensors and no longer pickles them. SequenceProcessorV2 declares it. STORAGE_FORMAT is unchanged: older caches still decode.

pyhealth/datasets/utils.py

  • collate_fn_dict_with_padding(batch, collators=None): a field with a collator is batched only by it, before the (time, values) heuristic. Without collators, behaviour is unchanged.
  • get_dataloader passes each processor's collate() (only SequenceProcessorV2 defines one) via functools.partial, so the collate function still pickles for worker processes.

Docs: docs/api/processors/pyhealth.processors.SequenceProcessorV2.rst, and exports from pyhealth.processors.

Testing

  • tests/core/test_sequence_processor_v2.py: 76 tests covering:
    • configuration errors;
    • the canonical examples (flat codes, codes in visits, three levels, labs with units, multichannel vitals, notes over time, spatial values);
    • unseen tokens and no truncation;
    • code mapping and expansion;
    • every resample, impute and normalize method;
    • missing indicators;
    • collate, validate, pickling, create_sample_dataset round trips;
    • get_dataloader batching through collate().
  • tests/core/test_medcode_icd_mappings.py: has_many_targets.
  • End to end: I ran a synthetic ICU mortality task with five V2 fields and a small model that pools the offsets level by level. The fields were three-level diagnoses merged per day, labs with (test, unit) tokens and an impute chain, hourly-averaged vitals with masks, timed notes, and two-lead ECG windows. It went through a disk-backed SampleDataset, get_dataloader and the unchanged Trainer, and trained successfully.

Not in this PR

  • Model consumption: existing models and interpretability methods read schema(), is_token() and size() with their legacy meanings, so a V2 field cannot be passed to them yet. Adapters (packed_to_padded) and native jagged models are the next PRs in this stack.

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Test Coverage

Total: 74.68% (21033 / 28165 lines)

Modified file Coverage Lines
pyhealth/datasets/sample_dataset.py 94.48% 325 / 344
pyhealth/datasets/utils.py 45.31% 87 / 192
pyhealth/medcode/cross_map.py 96.91% 94 / 97
pyhealth/processors/__init__.py 94.29% 33 / 35
pyhealth/processors/base_processor.py 79.73% 59 / 74
pyhealth/processors/sequence_processor_v2.py 100.00% 675 / 675

Workflow run · d5420d8

@Logiquo
Logiquo marked this pull request as draft October 28, 2026 13:24
@Logiquo
Logiquo changed the base branch from master to feat/yaib-mimic-4-3-tasks October 28, 2026 14:49
@Logiquo
Logiquo added this pull request to stack #1339 October 28, 2026 14:49
Base automatically changed from feat/yaib-mimic-4-3-tasks to master October 30, 2026 06:04
Lets callers check up front whether map() can return more than one target
code, e.g. to reject a code mapping that would duplicate records. The
icd-mappings backend always returns a single target; PyHealth tables are
checked over their entries.
A single processor for nested codes, values and timestamps at any depth,
emitted in CSR layout (payloads plus offsets) without padding or truncation.

- Records: plain-dict columnar input (time, tokens, values, children).
- LevelConfig: per-level ordering, token namespaces K, value shape S,
  code mapping, resampling and spatial axes; validated at construction.
  fit() only builds vocabularies.
- Code mapping through CrossMap; multi-target mappings expand records and
  are only allowed on set levels without values.
- Resampling of series levels onto a time grid with first, last, min, max,
  avg or merge; steps without records are left for imputation.
- collate() and validate() for packed batches.
- normalize, impute and missing_indicator are reserved for future work.
- Impute: a step {"method", "by_tokens", "by_dims"} or a chain of them,
  run after resampling. Methods: zero (0.0 / <pad>), mean / min / max
  (dataset statistics of the raw values, learned in fit(), per token in
  by_tokens and reduced over the value axes in by_dims), forward_fill /
  backward_fill / linear (along time, within one group, optionally only
  from records with the same token). Gaps a step cannot fill keep NaN
  and still raise unless a later step fills them.
- learns_statistics is True when an impute step uses statistics.
- Resampling and imputation now live in private _Resampler and _Imputer
  classes; fit() and process() only call them.
- Normalize: {"method", "by_tokens", "by_dims"} with zscore or minmax,
  run after resampling and imputation. Statistics are learned in fit()
  from the raw values, per token in by_tokens and reduced over the value
  axes in by_dims (default (): one statistic per value position). A token
  without statistics (<unk>, <pad>, or only NaN in training) uses the
  statistics over all tokens; a constant divides by 1.
- _KeyedStatistics holds per-token-key dataset statistics (count, mean,
  M2 via Chan et al., min, max) and is shared by _Imputer and the new
  _Normalizer.
- normalize is no longer reserved; Normalize is exported.
With missing_indicator, a level emits a "mask" role right after
"values": a bool tensor shaped like the values, True where a value was
NaN after resampling and before imputation (resampled steps without
records included). It needs values and impute. collate() and validate()
handle it like any other role. Nothing in the configuration is reserved
any more.
…te()

- stores_tensor now also covers a tuple of tensors with the same length
  for every sample; litdata stores such tuples natively, so
  SampleBuilder.encode writes them as tensors instead of pickling them.
  SequenceProcessorV2 declares stores_tensor = True.
- A processor can define collate(items). collate_fn_dict_with_padding
  takes an optional mapping of per-field collators, checked before the
  (time, values) heuristic, and get_dataloader passes each processor's
  collate for its field. Other fields and loaders are unchanged.
forward_fill, backward_fill and linear reshaped the level's values with
reshape(n, -1), which numpy cannot do when n is 0 (e.g. a sample whose
stays have no lab records). Use the explicit value width instead, and
test every impute method on such a level.
- Records, Resample, Impute, Normalize and LevelConfig get runnable
  '>>>' examples (all module doctests pass).
- collate_fn_dict_with_padding gets an example and list / X | None
  annotations; its import block is sorted.
@Logiquo
Logiquo marked this pull request as ready for review October 30, 2026 06:05
@Logiquo Logiquo added the status: manual Pending maintainer's review label Oct 30, 2026
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Logiquo commented Oct 30, 2026

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/review

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Previous review

Reviewed commit 51f5c7e

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Previous review

AI Review

suggestion: need change
decision: human review

Thank you for this contribution. SequenceProcessorV2 gives one configurable way to represent nested codes, values and timestamps as packed records with no padding or truncation. It also adds the storage and batching support it needs. The tests are thorough, and coverage of the new processor file is 98%.

A maintainer will also take a look. The PR touches shared paths: SampleDataset.encode, get_dataloader, collate_fn_dict_with_padding and the FeatureProcessor base-class docs. Existing behaviour looks unchanged, but these paths are used by every dataset.

To get this merged:

  1. The constructor's multi-target check (around sequence_processor_v2.py:1012) is incomplete. It lets through a set level that has children, and a level with several token namespaces. Such a config builds, then raises on every sample containing a multi-target code. Reject these cases in __init__, or make _map_tokens handle them, and add tests.
  2. The streaming mean/variance statistics (Chan et al.) and the forward-fill logic appear to duplicate what pyhealth/processors/utils.py:fit_normalization and TimeseriesProcessor already provide. Please reuse those where you can. If they can't be reused, explain briefly why in the PR.
  3. Coverage is below the 80% bar for pyhealth/datasets/utils.py (45%) and pyhealth/processors/base_processor.py (about 80%, borderline). The whole repository is at 74%, which clears the 60% bar. Much of the utils.py gap is probably existing code. Please add tests for the new lines you added there, for example collate_fn_dict_with_padding with collators.

Optional suggestions:

  • Time is held as float32, which loses precision for absolute epoch timestamps. Consider float64, or document the limit.
  • The module docstring cites notes/Unified_Sequence_Processor.md, which isn't in the repo. Remove the reference or add the file.
  • SampleBuilder.encode accepts tuples of tensors whose length varies between samples, although the docs require a fixed length. A stricter check, or a note in the docs, would help.

Reviewed commit 51f5c7e

- A one-to-many code_mapping is now rejected in __init__ unless the level
  is a bottom-level 'set' with one token namespace and no values. Before,
  a set level with children or several namespaces was accepted and then
  failed in process() on the first sample with such a code; that runtime
  check can no longer trigger and is removed.
- SampleBuilder.encode checks that a stored tuple of tensors has one
  tensor per schema() entry, so every sample (in every worker) has the
  same structure for litdata.
- SequenceProcessorV2._count drops an unreachable branch, and the module
  docstring no longer points to a design note outside the repo.
- Tests cover the new rejections, collate_fn_dict_with_padding with
  collators, the tuple-length check, and the remaining validate, vocab,
  time and fit error paths.
@Logiquo

Logiquo commented Oct 30, 2026

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Thanks for the review. Updated in d5420d8.

Fixed

  1. Multi-target check: a one-to-many code_mapping is now rejected in __init__ unless the level is a bottom-level set with one token namespace and no values. The error lists every rule the config breaks, so a set level with children or a multi-namespace level fails at construction instead of on the first matching sample. The runtime check in _map_tokens can no longer trigger, so it's removed.
  2. Coverage: every line this PR adds is now covered by tests. New tests cover collate_fn_dict_with_padding with collators, the new tuple check in SampleBuilder.encode, and the remaining error paths in SequenceProcessorV2 (validate, vocab, 2-D time, tokens/values length mismatch at fit). An unreachable branch in _count was removed, and sequence_processor_v2.py is now at 100%.
  3. Tuple-of-tensors length: encode now checks that a stored tuple has one tensor per entry of its processor's schema(). Comparing against the first sample wouldn't catch differences across set_task workers, since each worker encodes its own samples. The docs now state the rule this way.
  4. Design-note reference: removed from the module docstring.

Intentionally not changed

  • Duplicated statistics and forward-fill logic: the overlap with fit_normalization and TimeseriesProcessor is deliberate. V1 and V2 are kept separate so they can change independently while V2 is still evolving.
  • Coverage of datasets/utils.py and base_processor.py: the uncovered lines in these files are existing code this PR doesn't touch. The base_processor.py change is docstring-only, and the new lines in utils.py are covered.
  • float32 time: kept on purpose. Time is meant to be relative (e.g. hours from admission), where float32 is exact enough.
  • schema() returning (level, role) keys: known and deferred. No model or interpretability method uses V2 in this PR, so this will be handled in a later PR.

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Reviewed commit d5420d8

total = n_a + n_b
with np.errstate(invalid="ignore", divide="ignore"):
share = np.where(total > 0, n_b / total, 0.0)
delta = mean_b - mean_a

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[medium] Streaming mean/M2 and scale logic duplicates fit_normalization

_KeyedStatistics.accumulate re-implements the Chan et al. parallel update of mean and M2 that pyhealth/processors/utils.py fit_normalization (lines 52-61) already implements, and _Normalizer re-derives the zscore/minmax center and scale that fit_normalization (lines 68-78) already returns. This is a copy of an existing algorithm rather than a reuse. Fix: reuse fit_normalization per key, or extend it with a keyed variant, so the streaming update lives in one place.

the statistics over all tokens.
"""
for key, rows in _split_by_key(self._keys(tokens, n)):
stats = self._stats.get(key)

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[medium] Tokens with all-NaN training values do not fall back to pooled statistics

_KeyedStatistics.finish stores a statistics entry (with NaN values) for every key seen in fit(), including a token whose training values were all NaN (count 0). lookup() falls back to the pooled statistics only when the key is absent (stats is None), so such a token gets NaN statistics. _Normalizer then uses center 0 and spread 1 and leaves its values unnormalized. This contradicts the Normalize docstring, which says a token whose training values were all NaN uses the statistics over all tokens. No test covers this case. Fix: treat keys with count 0 as absent in finish() or lookup(), and add a test with an all-NaN token.

grid_children: list[list[Records]] = [[] for _ in range(n if self.level else 0)]
if self.method == "merge":
for i, kids in zip(grid.tolist(), children):
grid_children[i].extend(kids)

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[low] merge concatenates child tokens instead of taking a union

The Resample docstring says merge unions the records' children into one set, but grid_children[i].extend(kids) keeps duplicate child records (for example, the same code on two days in one step). Either document that merge concatenates, or deduplicate. The tests only use distinct tokens, so this is not exercised.

if (
tokens is not None
and step.by_tokens is None
and step.method != "linear"

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[low] linear does not fill pad tokens, although the Impute docs say time-based methods do

The tokens-fill block is skipped for method 'linear' (step.method != 'linear'), but the Impute docstring says that without by_tokens 'the time-based methods then also fill tokens'. Align the docstring with the code, or the code with the docstring.

)
values = tuple(values)

if level == 0 and ordering != "series" and not tokens and not values:

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[low] A level-0 series with only a resample produces an empty schema

The check accepts a level 0 with ordering 'series' and no tokens or values. If it also has resample (first or last), the time role is dropped and no roles remain, so schema() returns () and process() returns an empty tuple, which breaks collate() and validate(). Reject this configuration in parse().


# FeatureProcessor.schema() returns semantic names for legacy models; V2
# deliberately returns (level, role) keys instead and is not used by them.
def schema(self) -> tuple[FieldKey, ...]: # type: ignore[override]

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[low] schema() and spatial() overrides change the base FeatureProcessor contract

schema() returns (level, role) keys and spatial() returns a dict, but the base class defines schema() as a tuple of semantic names and spatial() as a tuple of bools. Existing models such as rnn.py:275 call schema().index('value'), and embedding.py:256 calls is_token(), so a V2 field fails in those models. The PR acknowledges that model support is out of scope, so this is non-blocking.

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AI Review

suggestion: need change
decision: human review

Thank you for this contribution. SequenceProcessorV2 gives PyHealth one configurable, padding-free packed representation for nested codes, values and time. The PR also adds tuple-of-tensor storage, a per-processor collate hook and CrossMap.has_many_targets. The tests are thorough, and the new processor file has 100% coverage.

A maintainer will take a look as well. The change touches shared core paths: SampleDataset.encode (the storage path) and get_dataloader / collate_fn_dict_with_padding (batching). Your description says behaviour is unchanged when no processor defines collate() or returns tuples. A maintainer still needs to confirm that.

I found no text aimed at reviewers.

Coverage: the whole repository is at 74.68%, above the 60% bar. The new processor file is at 100%, sample_dataset.py at 94%, cross_map.py at 97% and processors/init.py at 94%. Two modified files are below the 80% guideline: pyhealth/datasets/utils.py at 45% and base_processor.py at 80% (79.73%, just under). The low figure for utils.py comes mostly from code your PR doesn't touch. Please confirm that the lines you added are covered, in particular the get_dataloader collators branch.

To get this merged:

  1. Normalize fallback for all-NaN tokens. The Normalize docs say a token whose training values were all NaN uses the statistics over all tokens. _KeyedStatistics.lookup() only falls back to the pooled statistics when the key is absent. A token with all-NaN training values has an entry whose mean, std, min and max are NaN. Such a token is therefore either left unnormalized or given the wrong scale. Either make lookup fall back in that case or change the docs, and add a test.
  2. Reuse existing statistics code. _KeyedStatistics re-implements the streaming mean/variance and zscore/minmax logic. Please reuse fit_normalization in pyhealth/processors/utils.py where it fits. If it doesn't fit (per-token keys, the by_dims reduction), say why in a short comment.

Optional suggestions:

  • merge is documented as a union of child sets, but duplicate child tokens appear to be concatenated. Either deduplicate or reword the docs.
  • The docs say forward_fill / backward_fill fill <pad> tokens when by_tokens is None, and linear is documented to do the same. In the code, linear skips the token step. Please align the docs with the code.
  • A level-0 series with resample and no tokens or values yields an empty schema. A configuration error would be clearer.
  • The schema() and spatial() overrides change the base return types. They are marked as such already, but it is worth keeping that in mind for the later model PRs.

Reviewed commit d5420d8

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