MICCAI 2026 Workshop: HemaRAI

Toward Reliable AI in Hematology: Robust Red Blood Cell and Parasitemia Analysis

A workshop on robust, fair, and clinically reliable AI for blood smear analysis

Red blood cell analysis and parasitemia detection are important tasks in clinical hematology and computational pathology. This workshop focuses on robust and trustworthy AI methods that can generalize across real-world domain shifts, support standardized evaluation, and accelerate clinically meaningful deployment.

Held in conjunction with MICCAI 2026. Exact workshop date and venue details are to be announced.

MICCAI 2026 context Details under development

Call for Papers

Call for Papers

We welcome submissions on robust RBC morphology analysis, parasitemia detection, foundation models, self-supervised learning, fairness and generalization, reproducibility and benchmark design, and clinically relevant hematology AI.

Submitted papers will undergo peer review, with selected contributions featured as oral presentations and posters.

Submissions are managed via OpenReview. Please use the link below to submit your paper.

Submission Deadline
June 28, 2026 — 23:59 (AoE)
Workshop Date
October 1, 2026
Location
Strasbourg, France
Submission Platform
OpenReview

Submission

Submission Guidelines

Papers should follow the MICCAI 2026 submission format and be prepared for double-blind review. All submissions will be handled electronically through OpenReview.

Format

LNCS / MICCAI Style

Submissions must use the MICCAI 2026 template in LNCS style: up to 8 pages for the main paper plus up to 2 pages of references. Papers must be submitted as searchable PDF files.

Submissions that exceed the page limit or violate formatting requirements may be rejected without review.

Review

Double-Blind Process

Reviewing is double blind. Please remove author-identifying information from the manuscript, acknowledgments, links, supplementary files, and any other submitted material.

Authors should follow the MICCAI anonymity and paper submission guidelines when preparing their manuscripts.

Submission

OpenReview

HemaRAI uses OpenReview for online submission and review. Authors should submit through the workshop OpenReview site by the stated deadline.

Please make sure that the author list, conflicts of interest, subject areas, and manuscript metadata are complete and correct before the deadline.

Supplemental Material

Optional Files

Supplemental material is optional and should be submitted by the same deadline as the main paper. The paper should clearly refer to any supplemental content, but reviewers are not required to consult it.

Originality

Original Work

Submitted work must be original and must not be under review or accepted for publication elsewhere in substantially similar form. Archived preprints are permitted when they comply with MICCAI policies and do not compromise anonymity.

Proceedings

Publication

Accepted workshop papers are expected to follow the MICCAI Satellite Events proceedings process. Final publication details will be updated here once confirmed by MICCAI.

For full formatting and submission requirements, please consult the MICCAI 2026 Paper Submission Guidelines.

About

Topics of Interest

A focused discussion space for rigorous methods, meaningful evaluation, and translational thinking across hematology images.

Robustness and Domain Shift

  • Robustness under domain shift
  • Staining, microscope, scanner, and illumination variability
  • Lab and site variation

Reliable Predictions

  • Generalization and uncertainty estimation
  • Calibration and selective prediction
  • Bias measurement and mitigation

Learning Paradigms

  • Self-supervised learning for cytology
  • Foundation models for blood image analysis
  • Promptable and interactive segmentation

Phenotyping and Morphology

  • RBC morphology analysis
  • Anemia-related phenotypes
  • Dysmorphisms and hemoglobinopathies
  • Sickle cell analysis

Parasitemia Analysis

  • Parasitemia detection
  • Malaria and other blood-borne parasites

Benchmarks and Translation

  • Benchmarks and reproducibility
  • Standardized evaluation protocols
  • Translational and workflow considerations

Why This Workshop

Why this conversation matters now

Reliable AI in the real world

Performance on curated datasets is not enough. The field needs methods that remain dependable across clinical settings and deployment conditions.

Robust hematology microscopy

Blood smear analysis is highly sensitive to acquisition and preparation variability, making robustness and calibration central technical challenges.

Clinical translation

Better tools can support diagnosis, triage, and laboratory workflow only when they align with clinical needs and practical constraints.

Reproducibility and benchmarks

Shared evaluation protocols and rigorous benchmarks are key to comparing methods fairly and moving the field forward credibly.

Program

Preliminary Program

A focused 120-minute format designed to balance invited context, selected research talks, and discussion.

Total duration: 120 minutes

5 min

Welcome and scope

Opening remarks and workshop framing.

45 min

Invited talk

Featured invited presentation.

5 min

Q&A

Audience discussion following the invited talk.

3 x 10 min

Top-3 oral presentations

Selected peer-reviewed contributions presented orally.

Up to 6 x 1 min

Poster spotlight pitches

Short previews introducing poster contributions.

25 min

Poster discussion / networking

Interactive exchange around posters and emerging ideas.

4 min

Closing remarks and next steps

Wrap-up, outlook, and community follow-up.

Speaker

Invited Speaker: TBD

The invited speaker is still being confirmed and will be announced once finalized.

TBD

TBD

Speaker details will be published here as soon as the invitation process is completed.

Organizers

Organizing Team

The workshop is coordinated by an interdisciplinary team spanning academic research, translational AI, and biomedical image analysis.

Placeholder portrait for Dr. Andrea Loddo

General Chair

Dr. Andrea Loddo

University of Cagliari

Placeholder portrait for Luca Zedda

Program Chair · Webmaster

Mr. Luca Zedda

University of Cagliari

Placeholder portrait for Dr. Ahmed Elnady Elsafty

Clinical and Translational Advisor

Dr. Ahmed Elnady Elsafty

PathOlOgics, LLC

Placeholder portrait for Prof. Carsten Marr

Senior Advisory Chair

Prof. Carsten Marr

Helmholtz Munich

Placeholder portrait for Dr. Ario Sadafi

Program Chair

Dr. Ario Sadafi

Helmholtz Munich

Placeholder portrait for Davide Antonio Mura

Webmaster

Mr. Davide Antonio Mura

University of Cagliari

Placeholder portrait for Prof. Cecilia Di Ruberto

Keynote and Outreach Chair

Prof. Cecilia Di Ruberto

University of Cagliari