Master’s students from the School of Computer Science and Engineering at Macau University of Science and Technology (MUST) won four titles in the international challenges held in conjunction with MICCAI 2026. They were the only team from Macao to receive awards in these challenges. Ruochong Lin and Yihao Qiu, who study Master of Science in Applied Mathematics and Data Science in MUST’s School of Computer Science and Engineering, competed under the supervision of Assistant Professor Jianjun Zhu, formed the MUST-MEDAI team and won both tasks in the TopAneu 2026 Challenge. Lin also secured first place in both tracks of the ATM 2026 Challenge, bringing the total to four titles.
Assistant Professor Jianjun Zhu (centre) with master’s students Ruochong Lin (left) and Yihao Qiu (right)
Established in 1998, the International Conference on Medical Image Computing and Computer Assisted Intervention (MICCAI) is widely recognised as one of the most influential international academic conferences in medical image computing and computer-assisted intervention. It brings together more than 3,000 researchers, clinicians and scientists each year to exchange ideas.
TopAneu 2026 attracted 449 participants from 56 countries and regions, including teams from universities such as Tsinghua University, the National University of Singapore, the Chinese University of Hong Kong and Seoul National University, as well as companies including Albumentations.AI, ArteryFlow Technology Co., Ltd. and Philips. The challenge required models to identify aneurysms in images of blood vessels in the brain, determine which vessels they affect and outline their extent. An aneurysm is a localised outward bulge in a blood vessel wall. Lin and Qiu won both Vessel-Specific Classification (Task 1) and Vessel-Specific Segmentation (Task 2), which respectively involve identifying the affected vessel and outlining the aneurysm.
ATM 2026 attracted 138 participants from 30 countries and regions, including teams from universities such as Imperial College London, Peking University and Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, as well as companies including Ant Group, ArteryFlow Technology Co., Ltd. and Hanglok-Tech Co., Ltd. The challenge required models to trace the tree-like branching airways in chest images and identify the anatomical names of individual branches. Lin placed first in both Binary Airway Segmentation (Track 1) and Branch-wise Anatomical Labeling (Track 2), which respectively involve outlining the airways and identifying their branches. This research can provide a foundation for bronchoscopic navigation and surgical route planning.
Championship trophies and award certificates
These victories in leading international competitions represent an important achievement of the School’s interdisciplinary education model. They demonstrate the students’ ability to combine mathematics, data science and medical artificial intelligence to address clinical challenges. The School will continue to promote the integration of scientific research innovation with clinical application, and cultivate more high-level research talent with international competitiveness.
