Machine Learning-Driven Innovations in Biomedical Signal and Image Processing

A special issue of Bioengineering (ISSN 2306-5354). This special issue belongs to the section "Biosignal Processing".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 November 2025 | Viewed by 317

Special Issue Editors


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Research Centre in Digitalization and Intelligent Robotics (CEDRI), Applied Management Research Unit (UNIAG), Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, Campus de Santa Apolónia, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal
Interests: speech synthesis; prosody; speech systems; modulation; prediction with neural networks; DNN; LSTM; time series forecast and biological signals analysis; namely EEG; ECG and voice
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Guest Editor
Department of Electrical Engineering (SEL), São Carlos School of Engineering (EESC), University of São Paulo (USP), São Carlos 13566-590, Brazil
Interests: analog and digital integrated circuits; micromachining and micro/nanofabrication technologies for mixed-mode/RF systems; solid-state integrated sensors; microactuators and microsystems; micro/nanodevices for industrial and biomedical applications; wireless systems for sensors and actuators; optical sensors and actuators; material technology for microsystems; microprocessor/microcomputer-based instrumentation and data-acquisition systems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The dramatic improvement in biomedical sensing technology has allowed us to acquire more and better information about the human body. The data sources encompass an enormous spectrum of areas, ranging from large phenomena, such as human gait analysis from wearable sensors or eye movement analysis for disease detection, to nanoscale phenomena, such as cell identification in histological microscopy or observing bone growth using micro-CT imaging. Hence, signal and image processing techniques have a central role in the extraction of meaningful information from such sources. In fact, advancements in signal and image processing techniques have allowed us to obtain improvements at a faster pace than the evolution of hardware. Such improvements, in such a wide landscape of data sources, have enhanced the need for advanced and specific technologies, tailored to each situation, either to improve quality or to estimate high-level information.

In addition, in recent years, artificial intelligence has been shown to offer high-performance mechanisms to deal with these situations, offering robust data models that are able to cope with large, nonlinear data spaces. Training algorithms have also become increasingly efficient, being able to keep up with the evolution of data models. Good generalization capabilities and high fidelity can be achieved, even with apparently limited or sparse data. Many of these systems outperform human capacities, and their use is becoming an established standard.

However, with such a fast evolution pace, the application landscape continues to grow, while many challenges still remain. For each type of signal or image source, improvements can be pursued in the following areas:

  • Data collection, compression, and visualization;
  • Data exploration;
  • Feature extraction, selection, enhancement, and analysis;
  • Data augmentation;
  • Model selection, tuning, and explainability;
  • Transfer learning;
  • Parameter space exploration.

The possibility of improving disease detection or enhancing therapies, boosting the quality of life of many people, makes this one of the most exciting current research areas.

For this Special Issue, prospective authors are invited to submit innovative research aimed at solving challenges in application areas such as, inter alia, clinical (diagnostic, rehabilitation, and monitoring) and biomedical research (histology, anatomy, physiology) and human–machine interfacing (acquisition technologies and stimulation). Some of the encompassed data sources include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Signals: EEG, EMG, ECG, EOG, electroretinogram (ERG), evoked potentials, local field potentials, deep brain stimulation (open-/closed-loop), magnetoencephalography (MEG), actigraphy, and gait analysis;
  • Medical imaging: X-ray, PET, CT or micro-CT, PET-CT, MRI, and SPECT;
  • Biological and molecular imaging: photoacoustic/coherence tomography (PAT/OCT), MRS, mass spectrometry, optical imaging, phase-contrast imaging, and laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM);
  • Human–machine interaction: wearable data (gaze, dynamics, heart rate), stimulation (touch, vision), emotion, disease, and altered states (drunk, sleepiness). 

Dr. Luis Coelho
Prof. Dr. João Paulo Ramos Teixeira
Prof. Dr. João Paulo Pereira do Carmo
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • signal processing
  • image processing
  • machine learning

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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25 pages, 3725 KiB  
Systematic Review
The Value of MRI-Based Radiomics in Predicting the Pathological Nodal Status of Rectal Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
by David Luengo Gómez, Marta García Cerezo, David López Cornejo, Ángela Salmerón Ruiz, Encarnación González-Flores, Consolación Melguizo Alonso, Antonio Jesús Láinez Ramos-Bossini, José Prados and Francisco Gabriel Ortega Sánchez
Bioengineering 2025, 12(7), 786; https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering12070786 - 21 Jul 2025
Abstract
Background: MRI-based radiomics has emerged as a promising approach to enhance the non-invasive, presurgical assessment of lymph node staging in rectal cancer (RC). However, its clinical implementation remains limited due to methodological variability in published studies. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis [...] Read more.
Background: MRI-based radiomics has emerged as a promising approach to enhance the non-invasive, presurgical assessment of lymph node staging in rectal cancer (RC). However, its clinical implementation remains limited due to methodological variability in published studies. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to synthesize the diagnostic performance of MRI-based radiomics models for predicting pathological nodal status (pN) in RC. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus for studies published until 31 December 2024. Eligible studies applied MRI-based radiomics for pN prediction in RC patients. We excluded other imaging sources and models combining radiomics and other data (e.g., clinical). All models with available outcome metrics were included in data analysis. Data extraction and quality assessment (QUADAS-2) were performed independently by two reviewers. Random-effects meta-analyses including hierarchical summary receiver operating characteristic (HSROC) and restricted maximum likelihood estimator (REML) analyses were conducted to pool sensitivity, specificity, area under the curve (AUC), and diagnostic odds ratios (DORs). Sensitivity analyses and publication bias evaluation were also performed. Results: Sixteen studies (n = 3157 patients) were included. The HSROC showed pooled sensitivity, specificity, and AUC values of 0.68 (95% CI, 0.63–0.72), 0.73 (95% CI, 0.68–0.78), and 0.70 (95% CI, 0.65–0.75), respectively. The mean pooled AUC and DOR obtained by REML were 0.78 (95% CI, 0.75–0.80) and 6.03 (95% CI, 4.65–7.82). Funnel plot asymmetry and Egger’s test (p = 0.025) indicated potential publication bias. Conclusions: Overall, MRI-based radiomics models demonstrated moderate accuracy in predicting pN status in RC, with some studies reporting outstanding results. However, heterogeneity in relevant methodological approaches such as the source of MRI sequences or machine learning methods applied along with possible publication bias call for further standardization and preclude their translation to clinical practice. Full article
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