Special Session
Special Session on
AI for Breast Microcalcification Detection and Characterization -
AI-BMDC
2026
2 - 4 March, 2026 - Marbella, Spain
Within the 19th International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies - BIOSTEC 2026
* CANCELLED *
CO-CHAIRS
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Bart Jansen
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Belgium
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Brief Bio
Bart Jansen is a professor (Google Scholar citations: ~6700; H-index: 31) at the department of Electronics and Informatics (ETRO) at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB). He is interested in developing image and signal processing techniques as well as artificial intelligence (AI) methods for a variety of applications in the broad biomedical engineering domain, with a focus on rehabilitation engineering. He builds software and algorithms to understand and improve the rehabilitation process, including computer games, algorithms for dynamic difficulty adjustment, biomechanic analysis from low cost sensors, a variety of AI methods on medical data, augmented reality in medical applications and many more. Bart Jansen graduated in 2001 with a Master of Science in Computer Science, followed by a master after master in AI in 2003 and obtained a PhD degree in computer science (VUB Ai-lab, promotor Luc Steels) in 2005, all from the VUB. Since 2006, he has been working in the ETRO department. In 2016 he was appointed as a professor, and since 2020 he also has a 10% position with IMEC. Bart Jansen was the promoter of 13 graduated PhD students and is currently (co-)supervising 7 PhD candidates. He teaches computer science and AI related courses in the Bachelor of Engineering Sciences program, as well as in the Master’s of Applied Computer Science and Engineering, Biomedical Engineering and to the Postgraduate program on Rehabilitation and Human Sustainable Technology.
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Redona Brahimetaj
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Belgium
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Brief Bio
Redona Brahimetaj received her Master’s degree in Applied Computer Science and Engineering from Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) in 2018, specializing in Smart Cities. She completed her PhD in 2023 with the thesis titled "Classification of Breast Cancer: In Vitro Microcalcification Analysis in 3D Micro-CT Images." Her research focused on the diagnostic potential of individual breast microcalcifications using high resolution imaging and machine learning techniques. Currently a postdoctoral researcher at VUB, she continues to work on breast cancer, with a particular interest in high-resolution analysis of individual microcalcifications. In parallel, she is also involved in gait analysis research, using low-cost sensors such as IMUs to study gait event detection and identify pathological patterns across different populations based on sensor signal profiles.
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SCOPE
Breast microcalcifications (MCs) are among the earliest radiographic signs of breast cancer, particularly in ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS). While traditional CAD systems and radiological assessments have primarily focused on clusters of MCs, the morphology and distribution of individual MCs carries critical diagnostic value.
This special session seeks to highlight recent advances in AI-based approaches for detecting, segmenting, and analyzing breast MCs across a variety of imaging modalities, including:
- Full-field digital mammography (FFDM)
- Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT)
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
- Contrast-enhanced mammography
- Multi-modal image fusion for enhanced MCs interpretation/detection/classification
TOPICS OF INTEREST
Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
- Deep learning (DL) architectures for detecting individual MCs
- Morphological analysis and malignancy risk prediction from single MCs
- AI-based classification of benign vs. suspicious MCs
- Explainability and interpretability of AI models in breast imaging
- Detection and characterization in challenging settings (dense breasts, low contrast)
- Temporal analysis of MCs evolution
- Clinical validation and real-world deployment
- Comparisons of cluster-based vs. single MCs AI analysis
- Synthetic data generation and augmentation for MCs training
IMPORTANT DATES
Paper Submission:
December 17, 2025
Authors Notification:
January 14, 2026
Camera Ready and Registration:
January 22, 2026
SPECIAL SESSION PROGRAM COMMITTEE
Available soon.
PAPER SUBMISSION
Prospective authors are invited to submit papers in any of the topics listed above.
Instructions for preparing the manuscript (in Word and Latex formats) are available at: Paper Templates
Please also check the Guidelines.
Papers must be submitted electronically via the web-based submission system using the appropriated button on this page.
PUBLICATIONS
After thorough reviewing by the special session program committee, all accepted papers will be published in a special section of the conference proceedings book - under an ISBN reference and on digital support - and submitted for indexation by SCOPUS, Google Scholar, DBLP, Semantic Scholar, EI and Web of Science / Conference Proceedings Citation Index.
SCITEPRESS is a member of CrossRef (http://www.crossref.org/) and every paper is given a DOI (Digital Object Identifier).
All papers presented at the conference venue will be available at the SCITEPRESS Digital Library