Special Session 19

SPECIAL SESSION #19

Francesco Guarnera

University of Catania, Italy

• francesco.guarnera@unict.it

Alessia Rondinella

University of Catania, Italy

• alessia.rondinella@phd.unict.it

Alessandro Ortis

University of Catania, Italy

• alessandro.ortis@unict.it

Sebastiano Battiato

University of Catania, Italy

• sebastiano.battiato@unict.it

The interaction between artificial intelligence and healthcare has become increasingly central, revolutionising the landscape of medical research, diagnosis and patient care. This special session explores the multiple applications of AI in healthcare, addressing its potential to improve efficiency, accuracy and accessibility in various areas of healthcare. From predictive analytics to image recognition and personalised medicine, the integration of AI technologies marks a paradigm shift in healthcare innovation. However, challenges such as ethical considerations, data privacy and explainability of AI model results underline the need for a balanced and considered approach to AI implementation in healthcare.

Topics include but are not limited to:

1. Medical Imaging and Diagnostics:
• AI analysis of medical images for accurate diagnosis.
• Integration of machine learning algorithms in radiology and pathology.
2. Predictive Analytics in Healthcare:
• Forecasting disease outbreaks and patient-specific risk prediction.
• Utilising AI for early detection of potential health issues.
3. Natural Language Processing in Healthcare:
• Extracting valuable insights from electronic health records.
• Enhancing communication between healthcare professionals and AI-driven systems.
4. Remote Patient Monitoring:
• AI-enabled remote monitoring of patients for timely interventions.
• Improving telehealth platforms through intelligent algorithms.
5. Explainability of machine learning model and Ethical Considerations:
• Understand and interpret machine learning presiction and results.
• Addressing ethical challenges in AI applications for health.
6. Human-AI Collaboration in Healthcare:
• Integrating AI tools into clinical decision-making processes.
• Ensuring effective collaboration between healthcare professionals and AI systems.

Francesco Guarnera, received the bachelor degree (summa cum laude) in computer science, in 2009, and the master degree (summa cum laude) in computer science in 2018 from University of Catania. From 2009 to 2016 he was a developer/analyst/project manager of web applications. In 2022 he obtained the title Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) with a thesis entitled "Advanced Methods for Image Forensics: First Quantization Estimation and Document Authentication" at the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Catania. From April 2022 to February he was a research fellow at the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences of the University of Catania studies with the grant entitled "Modeling using Agent Based Modeling (ABM) methodologies by In Silico Trials for drug evaluation" joining Medical Imaging research projects focused on the analysis of magnetic resonances of the brain. He is currently a researcher at the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, University of Catania. His research interests include image processing, multimedia forensics, medical imaging and deep learning. He coauthored more than 20 papers in international journals and conference proceedings. Since 2017 he has been a member of the IPLab research group of the University of Catania. He participated at the International Computer Vision Summer School (ICVSS) in the 2019 edition. From 2022 he is part of the committee of the International Forensics Summer School (IFOSS).

Alessia Rondinella, received the Bachelor Degree in Computer Engineering in 2018 and the Master Degree (summa cum laude) in Computer Engineering in 2021. She is currently a PhD candidate enrolled in the National PhD in Artificial Intelligence, in the Health and Life Science area, organized by the Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma and assigned to the University of Catania. Her research interests include Medical Imaging and Deep Learning. Since 2021 she has been an active member of the IPLab research group of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Catania. She participated at the International Computer Vision Summer School (ICVSS) in the 2022 edition, at the PhD School organized by Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma in the 2022 and at the International Forensics Summer School (IFOSS) in both 2022 and 2023.

Alessandro Ortis, was born in Italy in 1988. He obtained the PhD in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Catania in 2019. He is currently Tenure Track Assistant Professor at the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Catania, Italy. His main research interests lie in applications of AI in Computer Vision, Multimedia and related fields. He's also experience in industrial and medical applications of AI and related methods. He is author of about 60 scientific works among proceedins, journals and one international patent. He also organizes several scientific events such as conferences, workshops and challenges, among others. Alessandro is an active member of several scientific communities and serves as editor and chair for journals and events, with different roles. Recently, his research focused on the various applications of Adversarial Machine Learning in practical domains such as industry and health.

Sebastiano Battiato, is full professor of Computer Science at the University of Catania. He received his degree in Computer Science (summa cum laude) in 1995 from the University of Catania and his Ph.D. in Computer Science and Applied Mathematics from the University of Naples in 1999. From 1999 to 2003 he was the leader of the “Imaging” team at STMicroelectronics in Catania. He joined the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science at the University of Catania in 2004 (respectively as assistant professor, associate professor in 2011 and full professor in 2016). He is currently Chairman of the undergraduate program in Computer Science, and Rector’s delegate for Education (postgraduates and Phd). He is involved in research and directorship at the IPLab research lab (http://iplab.dmi.unict.it). He coordinates IPLab participation to large scale projects funded by national and international funding bodies, as well as by private companies. Prof. Battiato has participated as principal investigator in many international and national research projects. His research interests include image enhancement and processing, image coding, camera imaging technology and multimedia forensics. He has edited 6 books and co-authored about 200 papers in international journals, conference proceedings and book chapters. Guest editor of several special issues published in International Journals. He is also co-inventor of 22 international patents, reviewer for several international journals, and he has been regularly a member of numerous international conference committees. Scientific Chair of several International Congresses and Workshops (MMFORwild 2020-2022, IMPROVE 2021-2022-2023, INTELLYSIS 2020-2021-2022-2023, SIGMAP 2019-2020, ICIAP 2017, VINEPA 2016, ACIVS 2015, VAAM2014-2015-2016, VISAPP2012-2015, IWCV2012, ECCV2012, ICIAP 2011, ACM MiFor 2010-2011, SPIE EI Digital Photography 2011-2012-2013, etc.). He is currently Associate Editor of SPIE Journal of Electronic Imaging. He is the recipient of the 2011 Best Associate Editor Award of the IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems for Video Technology and is the winner of the 2017 PAMI Mark Everingham Prize. Since 2018, he has been included in the TIS (Top Italian Scientist) list of the Via-Academy. Since 2019 he is included in the list of Top 2% World Scientists. He is director (and co-founder) of both International Computer Vision Summer School (ICVSS), Sicily, Italy and IFOSS (International Forensics Summer School), Sicily, Italy. He is a senior member of the IEEE. Since 2019 he is Deputy rector for strategic planning and information systems.