Tuesday, April 22, 2025

[DMANET] OCT-Cyst Challenge Invitation

Dear Esteemed Colleagues and Researchers,
We are pleased to announce and cordially invite you to participate in the ICIAP 2025 OCT Cyst Challenge, a satellite event of the 23rd International Conference on Image Analysis and Processing (ICIAP 2025). This exciting competition, further detailed on our dedicated website: https://sites.google.com/community.unipa.it/iciap2025-oct-cystchallenge?usp=sharing, aims to foster innovation and advance the state-of-the-art in medical image analysis.
Our primary objectives for this challenge are to:

* Benchmark and compare novel algorithms for the automated segmentation of cysts in Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) images.
* Promote the development of robust and accurate methodologies capable of handling the inherent variability and complexities present in OCT data.
* Establish a publicly available resource of annotated OCT images and evaluation metrics to facilitate future research in this critical area.
* Encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing within the medical imaging and computer vision communities.

The task of accurate cyst segmentation in OCT images holds significant importance for several reasons:
OCT provides high-resolution, cross-sectional visualizations of retinal structures, making it indispensable for the diagnosis and management of numerous ocular diseases. Precise and reliable cyst segmentation is crucial for:

* Improving diagnostic accuracy and prognostic assessment in conditions such as diabetic macular edema and age-related macular degeneration.
* Facilitating quantitative analysis of cyst volume, morphology, and spatial distribution, enabling objective disease monitoring and treatment response evaluation.
* Potentially reducing the burden on clinicians by providing automated tools for time-consuming manual segmentation tasks.
* Advancing research into the pathogenesis and progression of cyst-related ocular pathologies.

We believe that this challenge presents a unique opportunity for researchers to contribute meaningfully to a clinically relevant problem with the potential for significant impact on patient care. By participating, you will have the chance to test your algorithms on a challenging dataset, compare your results with leading international teams, and contribute to the advancement of this vital field.
Key Important Dates:

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19/04: Dataset Release
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15/06: Submission Deadline for Algorithms and papers
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01/07: Notification of Results
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15-19/09: Workshop and Results Presentation at ICIAP 2025

We strongly encourage you to visit the competition website for comprehensive details regarding the dataset, evaluation metrics, submission guidelines, and participation instructions.
We look forward to your active participation in the ICIAP 2025 OCT Cyst Challenge and to witnessing the innovative solutions that will emerge from this collaborative effort.
Sincerely,
The Organizing Committee of the ICIAP 2025 - OCT-Cyst Challenge

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