Submission of inference containers to the preliminary development phase

Grand challenge algorithm template

Submissions to the Preliminary Development Phase and Final Test Phase of the ACOUSLIC-AI challenge should be in the form of inference containers submitted as Grand Challenge (GC) algorithms. GC algorithms are Docker containers that encapsulate the trained AI models—including both the architecture and model weights—and all necessary components. These components enable the container to load cases (stacked fetal ultrasound images), generate predictions (fetal frame number and fetal abdomen segmentation masks), and store the outputs (*.mha segmentation files and *.json frame number files) for subsequent evaluation.  Please note that you should use your own computing resources, or your choice of public platform, for model training.

Example code for such submissions can be found on ACOUSLIC-AI-baseline-algorithm GitHub repository, which currently supports an example implementation of a supervised nnUNet-based solution. There, you will find detailed step-by-step instructions to integrate and package your own algorithm running into a Docker container. Before implementing your own algorithm using this template, we recommend that you first upload a GC algorithm based on this unaltered template. This initial step is important because it may take multiple submissions to resolve any issues with it. In the following sections, we will provide a walkthrough of how to do this.

Uploading algorithm container to Grand Challenge

Please refer to these instructions to learn how to set up docker on your local system and package an algorithm container. Once you have successfully followed those steps, you can proceed to upload your algorithm as a Grand Challenge algorithm as follows:

Click on "+ Add a new algorithm"  or navigate to Submit > Preliminary Development Phase and complete the form on the page you are referred to:

Fill the Inputs and Outputs fields with the appropriate interfaces, as shown in the figure:

This step is very important, as these are the expected interfaces for any ACOUSLIC-AI challenge algorithm submission.  To learn more about GC input/output interfaces, visit: 

https://grand-challenge.org/components/interfaces/algorithms/

Once complete, click the "Save" button. At this point, your GC algorithm has been created and you are on its homepage. Now, click the "Containers" tab on the left panel, and then the "Upload a Container" button. Select your container image (.tar.gz file) for upload. After the upload is complete, click "Save". It typically takes 20-60 minutes till your container has been activated (depending on the size of your container). After its status is "Active", test out your container with a sample, unprocessed training case from the Training and Development Dataset.