Yu Sun

Wang Xinyi, Kang Hongyu, Wei Peishan et al.

In this paper, we aim to address the unmet demand for automated prompting and enhanced human-model interactions of SAM and SAM2 for the sake of promoting their widespread clinical adoption. Specifically, we propose Proxy Prompt (PP), auto-generated by leveraging non-target data with a pre-annotated mask. We devise a novel 3-step context-selection strategy for adaptively selecting the most representative contextual information from non-target data via vision mamba and selective maps, empowering the guiding capability of non-target image-mask pairs for segmentation on target image/video data. To reinforce human-model interactions in PP, we further propose a contextual colorization module via a dual-reverse cross-attention to enhance interactions between target features and contextual-embedding with amplifying distinctive features of user-defined object(s). Via extensive evaluations, our method achieves state-of-the-art performance on four public datasets and yields comparable results with fully-trained models, even when trained with only 16 image masks.

Alisher Myrgyyassov, Zhen Song, Yu Sun et al.

Ultrasound tongue imaging (UTI) is a non-invasive and cost-effective tool for studying speech articulation, motor control, and related disorders. However, real-time tongue contour segmentation remains challenging due to low signal-to-noise ratios, imaging variability, and computational demands. We propose UltraUNet, a lightweight encoder-decoder architecture optimized for real-time segmentation of tongue contours in ultrasound images. UltraUNet incorporates domain-specific innovations such as lightweight Squeeze-and-Excitation blocks, Group Normalization for small-batch stability, and summation-based skip connections to reduce memory and computational overhead. It achieves 250 frames per second and integrates ultrasound-specific augmentations like denoising and blur simulation. Evaluations on 8 datasets demonstrate high accuracy and robustness, with single-dataset Dice = 0.855 and MSD = 0.993px, and cross-dataset Dice averaging 0.734 and 0.761. UltraUNet provides a fast, accurate solution for speech research, clinical diagnostics, and analysis of speech motor disorders.

Wenxuan Zhang, Shuai Li, Xinyi Wang et al.

The Circle of Willis (CoW), vital for ensuring consistent blood flow to the brain, is closely linked to ischemic stroke. Accurate assessment of the CoW is important for identifying individuals at risk and guiding appropriate clinical management. Among existing imaging methods, Transcranial Color-coded Doppler (TCCD) offers unique advantages due to its radiation-free nature, affordability, and accessibility. However, reliable TCCD assessments depend heavily on operator expertise for identifying anatomical landmarks and performing accurate angle correction, which limits its widespread adoption. To address this challenge, we propose an AI-powered, real-time CoW auto-segmentation system capable of efficiently capturing cerebral arteries. No prior studies have explored AI-driven cerebrovascular segmentation using TCCD. In this work, we introduce a novel Attention-Augmented Wavelet YOLO (AAW-YOLO) network tailored for TCCD data, designed to provide real-time guidance for brain vessel segmentation in the CoW. We prospectively collected TCCD data comprising 738 annotated frames and 3,419 labeled artery instances to establish a high-quality dataset for model training and evaluation. The proposed AAW-YOLO demonstrated strong performance in segmenting both ipsilateral and contralateral CoW vessels, achieving an average Dice score of 0.901, IoU of 0.823, precision of 0.882, recall of 0.926, and mAP of 0.953, with a per-frame inference speed of 14.199 ms. This system offers a practical solution to reduce reliance on operator experience in TCCD-based cerebrovascular screening, with potential applications in routine clinical workflows and resource-constrained settings. Future research will explore bilateral modeling and larger-scale validation.