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This paper presents MGCANet, an end-to-end NAS framework that integrates multi-scale channel attention and multi-objective optimization to enhance feature representation and segmentation performance for complex structural patterns in images. The proposed meibomian gland channel attention (MGCA) module\u2013adapted for general complex structures\u2013employs orthogonal learning and fuzzy logic-inspired refinement to suppress background noise and capture multi-scale features, while a NAS-driven multi-objective search balances segmentation accuracy and computational overhead. MGCANet further incorporates weight inheritance mechanisms and cross-domain robustness design to enable efficient knowledge transfer across diverse imaging conditions with low memory overhead. Experimental results on standard segmentation tasks show that MGCANet achieves competitive performance in metrics such as Dice coefficient and Mean Intersection over Union (IoU), demonstrating its effectiveness in complex structure segmentation. This work highlights the effectiveness of integrating NAS-based optimization with attention mechanisms for automated feature learning in complex structural analysis, offering a scalable paradigm for real-world applications in image segmentation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1007\/s10791-025-09821-w","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,1]],"date-time":"2025-12-01T21:33:22Z","timestamp":1764624802000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Multi scale channel attention integrated NAS optimized framework for complex structure segmentation"],"prefix":"10.1007","volume":"28","author":[{"given":"Yujian","family":"Zhu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,12,1]]},"reference":[{"issue":"7","key":"9821_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3516","DOI":"10.3390\/ijms22073516","volume":"22","author":"E Appenteng Osae","year":"2021","unstructured":"Appenteng Osae E, Steven P. 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All experimental protocols followed were in accordance with the regulations and guidelines set by the committee. The study also adhered to the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki, and all procedures were carried out with strict compliance to ensure the rights and welfare of the study participants. Informed consent was obtained from all participants involved in the study. For subjects under the age of 16, informed consent was also obtained from their parents or legal guardians. Participants were fully informed of the study\u2019s purpose, procedures, risks, and benefits prior to their involvement.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Ethics approval and consent to participate"}},{"value":"Informed consent for the publication of de-identified data and relevant study results has been obtained from all participants (or their parents\/legally authorized representatives for minors involved in the study). The published content does not contain any personal identifiable information that could lead to the identification of individual participants.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Consent for publication"}},{"value":"The authors declare no competing interests.","order":4,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Competing interests"}}],"article-number":"289"}}