Congratulations to the ASIA 2026 Data Challenge Winners! This years data challenge focused on predicting the full ISNCSCI examination results from measurements from the expedited version (E-ISNCSCI). This is an important question that can help inform when it is appropriate to perform the expedited version of the examination.
The challenge had two tracks. A representative from each winning team presented their solutions in San Antonio during the 2026 ASIA Annual Scientific Meeting.
| Longitudinal Track “SCAI-ropractors” SCAI Lab, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland 
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ISNCSCI Imputation Track “SpineSprouts” Neuromobility Lab, University of Montreal, Canada
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Spinal cord injury (SCI) can result in a sudden and substantial loss of function and independence. The standard for measuring injury severity is the International Standards for Neurological Classification of Spinal Cord Injury (ISNCSCI) assessment. This is a comprehensive examination that measures strength and sensory function and different levels across the nervous system.
As an alternative to the full ISNCSCI examination, there is also an expedited version (E-ISNCSCI). This can be performed in some circumstances to determine the neurological level of injury (NLI) and the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale (AIS).
The full ISNCSCI is typically performed early after an injury, with the E-ISNCSCI being more appropriate for subsequent examinations. However, it is uknown exactly how much information about assessing sensory function is lost using the E-ISNCSCI and how much can be recovered through data-driven imputation methods.
This medical science data challenge, hosted by the American Spinal Cord Injury Association (ASIA), aims to improve performance on this task and to invite data scientists into the field of spinal cord injury research.
The Challenge
The 2026 challenge focused on predicting the full ISNCSCI examination results from measurements from the expedited version (E-ISNCSCI). This is an important question that can help inform when it is appropriate to perform the expedited version of the examination.
Goal: This challenge aimed to impute sensory scores from both a complete baseline ISNCSCI and subsequent E-ISNCSCI scores.
Dual Track: The competition included both tracks and imputating full ISNCSCI scores from E-ISNCSCI without a baseline ISNCSCI which can be found here. Participants could submit to one or both.
| Track 1: Recover ISNCSCI from a Single time point E-ISNCSCI examination |
Track 2: Recover the full ISNCSCI from longitudinal E-ISNCSCI exams where a full baseline examination was also performed |
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| Track 1: Click here | Track 2: Click here |
Past ASIA Data Challenge Winners
| 2025 Data Challenge Winners |
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Jesse R. Villines |
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Name: Ricardo Stirnimann |
