NYCU Team Wins 5th Place in International Competition for Camera-Based Carotid Artery Stenosis Detection
A team from National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University's (NYCU) School of Medicine has developed a system to detect carotid artery stenosis early using a standard camera. This innovative technology won 5th place in an international medical engineering competition, paving the way for non-invasive, low-cost diagnosis.
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- 📰 Published: April 12, 2026 at 16:47
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The NYCU School of Medicine announced in a press release today that the Global Innovation and Engineering in Medicine Alliance, an international organization jointly initiated by NYCU and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, held its 2nd annual student innovation competition this year, hosted for the first time in Taiwan by NYCU.
This year's competition attracted students from countries including the United States, Japan, South Korea, and Italy, with a total of 45 teams and 154 students competing for a total prize pool of US$150,000 (approximately NT$4.8 million). Taiwan sent 13 teams, with 8 from the NYCU School of Medicine.
The 1st, 2nd, and 4th places in this year's competition were won by medical schools under the University of Illinois system, while 3rd place went to Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. The 5th place was awarded to the NYCU School of Medicine team for their "Non-contact Early Detection System for Carotid Artery Stenosis."
The NYCU team mentioned that many patients often wait until their arteries are 70-80% narrowed or even show obvious symptoms before getting checked at a hospital, by which time surgery is often required. If it can be identified earlier, there is an opportunity for early intervention through medication or other means, rather than waiting for it to worsen before surgery.
The NYCU team explained that this system does not require additional medical equipment. It can determine the degree of carotid artery stenosis by analyzing blood flow changes from images taken with a regular camera, combined with signal processing technology. The technical barrier is low and it is easy to operate.
Dr. Yang Chih-Chieh, Dean of the NYCU School of Medicine, stated that this event is the world's first interdisciplinary international platform for "Medicine × Engineering × AI." Taiwan's ability to host the second edition not only affirms its academic strength but also signifies that NYCU is gradually establishing a voice in the field of international medical education.
Dr. Yang observed that the maturity of the works that advanced to the finals this year has significantly improved. They were more developed in clinical application, scientific rigor, and business model completeness compared to last year. Students are no longer just proposing concepts but are able to transform ideas into practical, usable solutions, showing that interdisciplinary training is gradually bearing fruit. (Editor: Kuan Chung-wei) 1150412
This year's competition attracted students from countries including the United States, Japan, South Korea, and Italy, with a total of 45 teams and 154 students competing for a total prize pool of US$150,000 (approximately NT$4.8 million). Taiwan sent 13 teams, with 8 from the NYCU School of Medicine.
The 1st, 2nd, and 4th places in this year's competition were won by medical schools under the University of Illinois system, while 3rd place went to Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. The 5th place was awarded to the NYCU School of Medicine team for their "Non-contact Early Detection System for Carotid Artery Stenosis."
The NYCU team mentioned that many patients often wait until their arteries are 70-80% narrowed or even show obvious symptoms before getting checked at a hospital, by which time surgery is often required. If it can be identified earlier, there is an opportunity for early intervention through medication or other means, rather than waiting for it to worsen before surgery.
The NYCU team explained that this system does not require additional medical equipment. It can determine the degree of carotid artery stenosis by analyzing blood flow changes from images taken with a regular camera, combined with signal processing technology. The technical barrier is low and it is easy to operate.
Dr. Yang Chih-Chieh, Dean of the NYCU School of Medicine, stated that this event is the world's first interdisciplinary international platform for "Medicine × Engineering × AI." Taiwan's ability to host the second edition not only affirms its academic strength but also signifies that NYCU is gradually establishing a voice in the field of international medical education.
Dr. Yang observed that the maturity of the works that advanced to the finals this year has significantly improved. They were more developed in clinical application, scientific rigor, and business model completeness compared to last year. Students are no longer just proposing concepts but are able to transform ideas into practical, usable solutions, showing that interdisciplinary training is gradually bearing fruit. (Editor: Kuan Chung-wei) 1150412