Special sessions are very small and specialized events to be held during the conference as a set of oral and poster presentations that are highly specialized in some particular theme or consisting of the works of some particular international project. The goal of special sessions (minimum 4 papers; maximum 9) is to provide a focused discussion on innovative topics. All accepted papers will be published in a special section of the conference proceedings book, under an ISBN reference, and on digital support. All papers presented at the conference venue will be available at the SCITEPRESS Digital Library. SCITEPRESS is a member of CrossRef and every paper is given a DOI (Digital Object Identifier). The proceedings are submitted for indexation by SCOPUS, Google Scholar, DBLP, Semantic Scholar, EI and Web of Science / Conference Proceedings Citation Index.
SPECIAL SESSIONS LIST
DEMS 2026, Special Session on Design and Evaluation of Monitoring Systems
Chair(s): Eunji Lee
microOrganChip 2026, Special Session on Organ on Chip Micro-Devices
Chair(s): Hadar Ben-Yoav and Janina Bahnemann
WHC 2026, Special Session on Wearable HealthCare
Chair(s): Vítor Carvalho, Filomena Soares, José Machado and Demétrio Matos
Dual-imaging 2026, Special Session on The emerging Dual-imaging systems (PET/MRI, PET/CT, MR/CT) in healthcare, advantages, challenges, and future application
Chair(s): Xiaohong Wang Gao and Jyh-Cheng Chen
RespAI-HealthInfo 2026, Special Session on Responsible AI in Healthcare Information Systems and Technology
Chair(s): Tahir Hameed
AI-BMDC 2026, Special Session on AI for Breast Microcalcification Detection and Characterization
Chair(s): Bart Jansen and Redona Brahimetaj
Gaited 2026, Special Session on Advances in Gait Event Detection and Spatiotemporal Gait Analysis
Chair(s): Bart Jansen and Redona Brahimetaj
Special Session on Design and Evaluation of Monitoring Systems -
DEMS
2026
Paper Submission:
December 17, 2025
Authors Notification:
January 14, 2026
Camera Ready and Registration:
January 22, 2026
Scope
This session will explore innovative approaches to designing monitoring systems that can enhance healthcare delivery and patient outcomes. Topics will include service design, user-centred design, integration of wearable and/or IoT technologies, synthetic data and sandboxes, and the role of artificial intelligence in optimizing monitoring and diagnostics. The session will also address challenges such as interoperability and usability in diverse healthcare settings. We welcome contributions that present case studies, novel frameworks, and design methodologies aimed at creating effective, scalable, and accessible monitoring solutions for various types of patients or general population.
Special Session on Organ on Chip Micro-Devices -
microOrganChip
2026
Paper Submission:
December 17, 2025
Authors Notification:
January 14, 2026
Camera Ready and Registration:
January 22, 2026
Scope
Study of the human body and organs physiology traditionally involves monolayer culture cells and animal models. However, transferability of these models is very limited since not all species-specific mechanisms can be replicated; importantly, tested drugs and diets that show results in animal models do not have the same effect in humans. Organ-on-chip (OOC) devices emerge as a novel physiological model devoid of these drawbacks. The OOC goal is to mimic cell and tissue structures under their physiological conditions. OOC architecture benefits from the advantages of both in-vivo and in-vitro systems, allowing the study of physiology, pathology, and pharmacology. OOC devices have the potential to bring cell culture models into greater alignment with human physiology than animal models have ever achieved.
Special Session on Wearable HealthCare -
WHC
2026
Paper Submission:
December 17, 2025
Authors Notification:
January 14, 2026
Camera Ready and Registration:
January 22, 2026
Scope
Wearable HealthCare is part of the actual human daily life. Nowadays, we are able to find these devices and systems practically everywhere, as integrated, among others, in our homes, body, mobile devices and vehicles, with the objective of improving our safety, comfort, performance and quality of life.
Following this trend, we invite investigators, academics and professionals to submit original research and review articles that will contribute to the dissemination of Wearable HealthCare in the Engineering domain.
Special Session on The emerging Dual-imaging systems (PET/MRI, PET/CT, MR/CT) in healthcare, advantages, challenges, and future application -
Dual-imaging
2026
Paper Submission:
December 17, 2025
Authors Notification:
January 14, 2026
Camera Ready and Registration:
January 22, 2026
Scope
The decent emerging dual-modality imaging systems by combining two diagnostic technologies in a single system have demonstrated potentials to not only enhance clinical decision-making and outcomes but also bring economic benefit with the like of 2-for-1 cost. The examples include combined computed tomography (CT) with single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), integrated CT with X-ray angiography imaging, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with CT, and more recently positron emission tomography (PET) with MR. This session focus on both pros and cons these dual-systems bring in the healthcare to maximise their potentials.
Special Session on Responsible AI in Healthcare Information Systems and Technology -
RespAI-HealthInfo
2026
Paper Submission:
December 17, 2025
Authors Notification:
January 14, 2026
Camera Ready and Registration:
January 22, 2026
Scope
Responsible AI in healthcare information systems refers to transparent, accountable and ethical design, deployment, and use of artificial intelligence technologies in health-related information delivery and decision-making. Patient safety is increasingly becoming reliant on the use of AI-driven online health information (OHI), electronic health records (EHRs), clinical decision support systems (CDSS), and software as medical devices (SaMDs), etc. This session targets theoretical issues, new technological implementations, and management and policy issues on responsible AI in healthcare information systems. The papers will focus on areas including, but not limited to, accuracy, reliability, algorithmic discrimination, transparency, explainability, human-AI collaboration, information privacy, trust, ethical and regulatory compliance in AI-driven health information and systems.
Special Session on AI for Breast Microcalcification Detection and Characterization -
AI-BMDC
2026
Paper Submission:
December 17, 2025
Authors Notification:
January 14, 2026
Camera Ready and Registration:
January 22, 2026
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
Special Session on Advances in Gait Event Detection and Spatiotemporal Gait Analysis -
Gaited
2026
Paper Submission:
December 17, 2025
Authors Notification:
January 14, 2026
Camera Ready and Registration:
January 22, 2026
Scope
Accurate identification of initial contact (IC) and final contact (FC) during human activity is essential for extracting meaningful spatiotemporal gait parameters (SGP). This special session focuses on recent advances in the detection and analysis of gait events using signal processing techniques, particularly in wearable and mobile settings.