WOMEN: Workshop on MIC and CAI Challenges on Women’s Health 

Despite the growing awareness on health disparities, there still remains an important gap in research efforts between men’s and women’s health. These disparities are encountered in all pathologies that affect women: those specific to women, those more frequent in women, and those presenting differently in women compared to men. In this workshop, we will specifically focus on those pathologies that are specific to women, such as gynecological disorders, reproductive health issues, and conditions influenced by hormonal differences.

To highlight the disparity in attention to women’s health issues, a PubMed’s request in December 2024 on the two most common genderspecific surgeries returned 22,534 results for “radical prostatectomy”, and only 3,779 for “radical hysterectomy”. There are important women’s health issues which still have too little consideration and would benefit from MICCAI research, where MIC and CAI communities can bring their expertise and knowledge. For instance, endometriosis affects approximately 10% of women worldwide [1], making it the leading cause of female infertility, and having a strong social and professional impact on women. However, its diagnosis remains challenging due to the variability of symptoms, anatomical lesions, and anatomical localization. The complexity of this disease requires innovative solutions that can provide accurate and personalized diagnoses. Another critical area is C-section, one of the most performed surgical procedures, concerning more than 20% of the birth deliveries worldwide [2], often performed in an emergency context, with possible serious side effects.

This workshop aims to raise awareness and bring experts in MIC and CAI to discuss the challenges and opportunities in applying their technologies to improve women’s health. By sharing knowledge and expertise, we hope to facilitate collaborations that can lead to innovative solutions for women's health. The half-day workshop will include 2 keynote speakers to present their vision on women’s health and their research works on this topic, as well as short presentations based on a call for papers, covering classic MIC and CAI topics applied to women's health, including medical image analysis and image-guided interventions.

[1] Maddern, J., Grundy, L., Castro, J., & Brierley, S. M. (2020). Pain in Endometriosis. Frontiers In Cellular Neuroscience, 14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2020.590823

[2] https://www.who.int/news/item/16-06-2021-caesarean-section-rates-continue-to-rise-amid-growing-inequalities-in-access