Category: Radiology

Top 6 Radiology Trends for the First Half of 2026

Posted on by Brian Casey

The first half of 2026 is now in our rear-view mirror. As we do every year, we’ve compiled a list of the top six stories – one for each month – to help recap what was important in medical imaging.

Radiology Reporting Booms as Microsoft Sunsets PowerScribe 360
Microsoft’s announcement in February that it would be sunsetting its PowerScribe 360 radiology reporting software set off a scramble for market share that continues months later. While PowerScribe was instrumental in moving radiology to speech recognition-based reporting, many radiology facilities are seeing the announcement as a chance to adopt more modern AI-powered reporting solutions.   

Radiology Dominates List of New AI Approvals
The FDA regularly updates its list of AI-enabled medical devices with marketing authorizations, and our coverage of the agency’s decisions was the second most-popular story of 2026’s first half. As with previous updates, radiology dominated the list, garnering 76% of all authorizations since the agency began keeping count and 75% in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Residency Push Skips Radiology
Workforce shortages are a hot story across healthcare, and radiology is no exception. But the specialty won’t be getting much help from a federal initiative to add more resident training slots. Of the more than 400 residency programs awarded funding so far, only two diagnostic radiology programs were selected.

Radiologist Quit Rates Double in a Decade
Having to do more work with less personnel could be convincing many radiologists to leave the profession. Our readers paid close attention to a February story on a JACR study that documented a doubling of the radiologist quit rate over 10 years, and the exact point in terms of case workload when rads were most likely to leave. 

Data Is Lacking on AI’s ROI
As radiology AI slowly moves from pilot projects to widespread clinical adoption, a new survey reveals a paradox: The technology is popular with radiologists, but few imaging facilities using AI have collected hard data showing its return on investment. That’s according to another popular story from April. 

Study Finds Variation in Radiologist Workload
Our sixth and final top story of 2026 addressed the growth in imaging volume since the COVID-19 pandemic, and how radiologists responded. Researchers found that volume did indeed grow faster than the supply of radiologists, but some imagers were doing more than others in picking up the slack. 

The Takeaway 

Our readers have apparently been interested in workload issues so far this year, as evidenced by the fact that three of the top six stories on The Imaging Wire for the first half of 2026 had something to do with radiology’s rising exam volume and its ramifications. The other half broadly addressed AI and imaging IT issues. See a connection?

ECR 2026 Video Highlights

Posted on by Brian Casey

The 2026 edition of the European Congress of Radiology wrapped up last weekend, and the conference was full of breaking business and clinical news.

Artificial intelligence dominated the proceedings in Vienna, with researchers presenting the latest work in applying AI to breast and lung screening, neuroradiology, fracture detection, and other clinical use cases.

AI was also a hot story in the technical exhibits, with no fewer than three mergers/acquisitions announced during the show.

In this special edition of The Imaging Wire newsletter, we offer a recap of our ECR 2026 video interviews with thought leaders and imaging vendors from the exhibit floor. 

We hope you enjoy watching our ECR 2026 video coverage as much as we enjoyed producing it! 

Check out the ECR 2026 video links below or visit the Shows page on our website, and keep an eye out for our next Imaging Wire newsletter on Thursday.

Top Trends from ECR 2026

Posted on by Brian Casey

The 2026 edition of the European Congress of Radiology wrapped up last week, and both clinical and business news dominated the discussion in Vienna. 

Below are the top trends from ECR 2026…

  1. AI Consolidation Heats Up: ECR week saw no fewer than three merger/acquisition agreements between AI developers, a sign that consolidation in the segment is heating up. DeepHealth acquired Gleamer, Sectra bought Oxipit, and Medimaps and Radiobotics agreed to merge, indicating that a major shakeup could be in the offing as venture capital funding shifts toward larger AI players and smaller firms struggle for relevance.
  2. Mammography AI Nears Real-World Implementation: Large-scale prospective studies like MASAI demonstrated the ability of mammography AI to reduce radiologists’ workloads and improve their interpretive performance. ECR attendees learned of new AI applications for breast screening – like image-based risk assessment – that move AI ever closer to real-world implementation.
  3. CT Lung Cancer Screening Ramps Up: Numerous European countries are rolling out population-based CT lung cancer screening programs, and a number of ECR presentations discussed the progress being made as well as technologies like AI that can make lung screening more effective.
  4. ECR As a Vendor Showcase: In terms of vendor news, ECR has always operated in the shadow of radiology’s largest conference, RSNA, but this year’s meeting showed that may be changing. AI companies timed a raft of M&A announcements with ECR 2026, and other vendors coordinated product launches for the Vienna meeting.
  5. Radiology Refines Sustainability Message: Environmental sustainability and how to reduce radiology’s global footprint was a major theme at ECR 2025, and that carried over to ECR 2026. Vendors are offering new solutions like helium-free MRI scanners, while researchers are showing how power-saving scanning protocols can help radiology save patients and the planet at the same time.
  6. Geopolitical Turmoil Affects Attendance: Ongoing geopolitical turmoil definitely affected attendance at ECR 2026 as flights from the Middle East and India to Europe were canceled during the meeting. But as with the weather delays at RSNA 2025, conference proceedings continued on and the halls of Austria Center Vienna seemed as crowded as in past years.

The Takeaway

Last week’s ECR 2026 cemented the meeting’s reputation as a European counterpoint to radiology’s other major conference, RSNA. In some areas like mammography AI and CT lung cancer screening, European radiologists are moving ahead of their colleagues across the Atlantic.

Top 2026 Radiology Trends

Posted on by Brian Casey

As we did in 2025, The Imaging Wire asked key opinion leaders in medical imaging to provide their predictions on the technologies, clinical applications, and regulatory developments that will shape the specialty for the next 12 months. Here’s what they said…

3 Key Radiology Trends for 2026: Three fundamental trends will drive the radiology industry in 2026: 1) AI-based workflow will become more widespread and harder to differentiate. 2) Technology and services will increasingly be bundled to drive care-pathway product solutions. 3) Intense competition will continue, with partnering and M&A growing at a faster pace as healthcare spending tightens and price pressures get worse. Steve Holloway, CEO of Signify Research

AI Consolidation Shifts to Multi-Product Platforms: Radiology AI consolidation will continue and accelerate the shift from point solutions to multi-product platforms. A few vendors will emerge as market leaders, leveraging deeper workflow integration to deliver more value, offer broad bundles at lower prices, and scale adoption. Pure intermediary platforms will compete with vertically integrated players that have become platforms. OEMs will embed more AI through partnerships or acquisitions and enter the race. Finally, in a sustained AI bull market, more startups will reach nine-figure valuations. Amine Korchi, MD, radiologist and founder of Singularity Consulting

AI Vision Language Models Impact Radiology Reporting: Use of AI vision language models for draft report generation will be a major trend. Chest X-ray models are already seeing growing real-world evaluation – VLMs for modalities like CT and MRI are the next wave. Also watch for advancements in volumetric foundation models. Winning solutions will seamlessly streamline radiologist review-and-correction workflows. The real differentiator: multimodal fusion that integrates longitudinal clinical context with imaging. Woojin Kim, MD, CSO/CMIO at HOPPR and CMO at ACR Data Science Institute

Breast Density Loopholes to Close: Dense breast reporting is now a national standard, and many states have expanded insurance coverage for breast imaging. The federal Find It Early Act would close state-specific loopholes and include federal plans. The next challenge is educating women and providers about increased or high-risk factors and guiding appropriate supplemental screening and clinical choices. JoAnn Pushkin, executive director, DenseBreast-info

Breast Imaging Moves to Risk-Based Screening: Breast imaging will continue to move toward risk-based screening, optimizing screening intervals and modalities personalized to the individual, based on risk models that combine breast density, family history, genetics, and AI-derived imaging biomarkers. AI-enhanced risk stratification will continue to gain traction, using mammographic features such as density patterns, texture, and parenchymal complexity to refine a woman’s future cancer risk. This will allow women to be triaged into personalized screening pathways: high-risk patients directed to MRI/abbreviated MRI, or intermediate-risk women to modalities such as ultrasound and contrast-enhanced mammography. Stamatia Destounis, MD, managing partner, Elizabeth Wende Breast Care 

CT Lung Cancer Screening Will Save More Lives: In 2026, CT lung cancer screening will save more lives than ever before. More countries will start screening programs (e.g., Germany), and more healthcare systems will achieve the “intersection of the curves”: More early-stage than late-stage lung cancer at diagnosis. Sebastian Schmidt, head of strategy, innovation, and medical affairs for CT at Siemens Healthineers

What Will Make MRI Safer? Last year the fatal Long Island MRI accident showed us just how tenuous our safety gains are. In 2026, more conversations should take place about which specific practices would make MRI safer, and how we go about making those standard across our profession, through regulation, licensure, or accreditation. Tobias Gilk, founder of Gilk Radiology Consultants 

Opportunistic Screening Adds Value: 2026 will witness a rapid expansion of published studies demonstrating the added clinical value of AI-enabled opportunistic CT screening. Furthermore, the increasing clinical availability of these automated AI tools for cardiometabolic assessment should ultimately herald their routine use in value-added patient care. Perry Pickhardt, MD, chief of gastrointestinal imaging at the University of Wisconsin 

Radiation Dose Management Tools: Practices will continue to become more comfortable using dose management tools to evaluate their dose data, benchmarking their doses for a given task against their peers. Diagnostic medical physicists play a crucial role in investigating and addressing dose outliers, and their important role in dose management will continue to grow. Cynthia McCollough, PhD, professor of medical physics and biomedical engineering at Mayo Clinic

Radiologist Shortage Will Continue: Looking into 2026, the radiologist shortage remains acute. Imaging demand will continue to outpace training output, burnout will drive attrition, and AI won’t offset capacity gaps fast enough. Workforce pressure shifts from volume coverage to subspecialist scarcity, keeping recruitment and retention firmly center stage. Jay Gurney, director of radiology for Projectus 

Regulation and Reimbursement: As hospital-based interventional procedures face their steepest revenue declines, groups with a strong IR background are recognizing the value of expanding into office-based labs as a necessary step to protect and diversify their revenue streams. Sandy Coffta, VP of client services at Healthcare Administrative Partners

Theranostics Emerges as Primary Treatment Option: Theranostics will continue to shed its reputation as a last-ditch treatment option, and dosimetry will become more routine. This upstream migration will be accelerated by emerging medium axial-field-of-view PET/CT scanners (~24-48 cm), which will increasingly deliver the sensitivity needed to reveal micrometastases missed by standard PET/CT systems, justifying earlier deployment of molecular therapies. Eliot Siegel, MD, professor, University of Maryland and co-founder of United Theranostics

The Takeaway

As healthcare’s most dynamic medical specialty, radiology is sure to continue its rapid pace of evolution in 2026. Rest assured that you can read about all the year’s top radiology trends in The Imaging Wire. 

Top 6 Radiology Trends from 2025’s First Half

Posted on by Brian Casey

The first half of 2025 has drawn to a close, and once again it was an eventful period for radiology. As we do every year, we’ve compiled a list of the top six stories – one for each month – to help recap what was important in medical imaging.

Consolidation in Imaging Services

Radiology’s imaging services segment continues to consolidate as smaller providers get gobbled up by larger players. One of the biggest consolidation moves happened in April when Radiology Partners agreed to take over radiology contracts held by Envision Healthcare. Private-practice radiology continues its slow decline, as documented by a study in May that found just 50% of U.S. radiologists in private practice.

DeepHealth Drives AI Consolidation

Imaging services isn’t the only radiology market that’s consolidating – the AI sector is also seeing heightened M&A activity as algorithm developers suffer from a decline in venture capital activity and slower clinical adoption. Many of the deals are being driven by RadNet’s DeepHealth subsidiary, which continues to acquire independent AI developers, such as See-Mode Technologies in ultrasound and its proposed deal for iCAD in mammography.

Radiology VC Funding Goes Boom – Then Bust

Radiology venture capital funding appeared to be gaining momentum in the first few weeks of 2025, as January saw six funding rounds, but the good times didn’t last as economic concerns slowed investment. Radiology startups may have to get used to a more competitive funding environment, although there was positive news in the spring with funding rounds from HOPPR, DESKi, RadAI, Yunu, Aeon, Heartflow, Chipiron, Brainomix, and Brainreader.  

When Will Getting Paid for AI Get Easier?

Reimbursement is one of the major stumbling blocks holding back wider adoption of clinical AI. Legislation that might grease the reimbursement skids was introduced into the U.S. Congress in April, but sources tell The Imaging Wire that it wasn’t included in the big budget bill that was just passed. In the meantime, AI developers and users will have to deal with a patchwork of AI reimbursement pathways.

Concerns Rise about CT Radiation Dose

Several studies were published in the first half of 2025 raising concerns about radiation dose from CT scans. First, researchers in April released a study that they claimed showed that all the CT scans performed in the U.S. in a single year would cause more than 100k cancers over the lives of the patients who got them. That was followed up with a paper in May linking greater CT use in European countries to a higher percentage of patients with five-year cumulative radiation dose of over 100 mSv. 

Can Imaging IT Tools Help Radiologists Manage Rising Volume?

Radiology’s rising scan volume and static workforce have IT developers furiously working on tools to bridge the gap. A March paper listed the half-dozen IT tools radiologists say they want (only one was AI), but another analysis threw cold water on the idea by predicting that AI would actually increase radiologists’ workload, not reduce it. Meanwhile, multiple studies are showing that for applications like breast screening, AI can reduce workload by as much as 41%.

The Takeaway

The midpoint of the year is a great time to take stock of radiology’s progress and the issues that have bubbled to the surface over the past six months. AI dominated radiology for the first half of 2025, and odds are the trend will continue in the back half of the year.

Imaging Workload Jumps with Higher Use of CT, MRI

Posted on by Brian Casey

Radiology’s shift to more advanced modalities like CT and MRI is increasing the burden on radiologists to interpret more complex exams. A new study in JACR documents the trend, finding that radiologist workload for inpatient imaging has risen sharply over the last 10 years. 

Like many physicians, radiologists are feeling burned out from rising patient workload, personnel shortages, and declining reimbursement. 

  • But radiology has the added burden of being one of healthcare’s most technology-focused specialties, with new imaging modalities giving them cooler tools to work with, but at the cost of steadily increasing exam complexity.

Researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital have been tracking inpatient imaging utilization for the past 40 years, and the new paper provides the latest update. 

  • They calculated inpatient imaging volume at Brigham and Women’s from 2012 to 2023, during which 896k imaging exams were performed.  

Results for the study were as follows …

  • Total annual inpatient imaging volume grew 17% over 10 years (102k to 119k exams).
  • Total imaging exams per patient admission (adjusted by case mix and disease severity) fell 20% due to declines in X-ray, ultrasound, and nuclear medicine.
  • But imaging exams per patient admission grew for CT (19%) and MRI (21%).
  • Leading to growth in CT and MRI’s combined share of all radiology global RVUs (62% to 75%).
  • Hospital length of stay rose 32% (5.6 to 7.4 days), possibly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

What does it all mean? Basically, the number of inpatient imaging exams per patient is declining when adjusted for disease severity, but radiologists are still having to work harder because the studies are more complex. 

  • Imaging could also be shifting from the inpatient setting to outpatient centers due to reimbursement changes aimed at shifting exams to lower-cost settings than hospitals.

One big question with the new study is the degree to which the COVID-19 pandemic skewed the results compared with previous years. 

  • The pandemic may have spurred more use of CT, especially given its value in providing a definitive diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. 

The Takeaway

If you feel like you’re working harder than ever, the new findings show that you’re not crazy. And given radiology’s breakneck pace of innovation, it’s not likely the trends revealed in the new study will let up any time soon.

Top 40 Radiology Resources

Posted on by Brian Casey

We’re pleased to announce The Imaging Wire’s updated list of top radiology resources for 2025 – the people and publications we rely on to find the most interesting medical imaging stories. 

If you’re a regular reader, you’ll notice we’ve expanded the list from 35 resources last year to 40 this year – not only does “top 40” have a nice ring to it, but a broader list better captures the amazing range of voices in the medical imaging industry.

Another major development since last year was an exodus of science and medical professionals from Twitter/X to the BlueSky platform. Some radiology thought leaders abandoned X entirely, while others have kept accounts going on both services as they wrestle with the conundrum of abandoning audiences built on Twitter over many years.

Regardless of platform, this list of top radiology resources should keep you well-informed about healthcare’s top medical specialty.

TOP RADIOLOGY SITES

From a radiology newsletter with a laser focus on AI to an educational site with thousands of radiology cases, you’re sure to find something that meets your needs from the list below.

  • AI for Radiology – A great source for news on AI, including the Project AIR testing clearinghouse.
  • CTisUs – Excellent site for radiology content run by the legendary radiologist Elliott Fishman, MD.
  • Medality Radiology Report Podcast – Medality CEO Daniel Arnold interviews the biggest names in medical imaging.
  • radHQ.net Forums – Public bulletin board that’s a great place to hear what keeps radiologists up at night. 
  • Radiopaedia – Excellent site for educational radiology content with global focus.
  • Signify Research – The best radiology market analysis, backed by actual market data.

TOP RADIOLOGY KEY OPINION LEADERS 

Radiology is fortunate to have a wealth of really smart people sharing their thoughts. Here are a few of the best.

AI and Imaging IT

Business and Vendors

  • Jan Beger – OEM executive with insightful high-level thoughts on AI.
  • Morris Panner – Imaging IT executive with cogent takes on the intersection of technology and patient care. 
  • Sebastian Schmidt – OEM executive with thought-provoking analysis of CT lung cancer screening.
  • Reza Zahiri – Detailed LinkedIn posts that deconstruct the financial positions of medical imaging vendors.

Education

Legal and Regulatory 

  • Tobias Gilk – Radiology’s conscience on MRI safety. 
  • Tom Greeson – The authority for perspectives on legal issues in radiology.
  • Hugh Harvey, MD – No better source on international AI regulation.

Practice Management and Leadership

HEALTHCARE NEWSLETTERS AND WEBSITES 

Looking to get out of the radiology niche and broaden your horizons? Check out some of these healthcare newsletters and websites.

The Takeaway

This list should cover all your bases for staying informed about the latest developments in radiology news. Or, just sign up for The Imaging Wire and we’ll do it for you.

PS – As always, if there’s any radiology influencers that should be on this list, let us know!

ECR 2025 Video Highlights

Posted on by Brian Casey

The theme of ECR 2025 was Planet Radiology, and those who were in attendance at Austria Center Vienna last week witnessed the role that radiology can play in reducing medical imaging’s contribution to climate change.

As always, ECR 2025 was the focus of cutting-edge research in AI, as well as the latest findings in traditional applications like cancer screening.

In this special edition of The Imaging Wire newsletter, we offer a recap of our ECR 2025 videos with thought leaders and imaging vendors from the exhibit floor. 

We hope you enjoy watching our ECR 2025 videos as much as we enjoyed producing them! 

Check out the ECR 2025 videos below or visit the Shows page on our website, and keep an eye out for our next Imaging Wire newsletter on Thursday.

Highlights from ECR 2025

Posted on by Brian Casey

This week’s European Congress of Radiology is underway in Vienna, and things are heating up in the cozy confines of Austria Center Vienna. 

The theme of this week’s meeting is Planet Radiology, and conference organizers have made sustainability a major priority. 

  • As one of healthcare’s biggest consumers of energy, radiology has a responsibility to lead efforts to reduce greenhouse gases – a challenge that ECR 2025 president Prof. Andrea Rockall compared to the discipline’s successful effort to reduce radiation exposure.

Planetary health was the focus of a glitzy opening ceremony on February 26 before a standing-room-only crowd.

  • The program featured not only the musical and dance performances that are an ECR hallmark but also awe-inspiring videos that focused on each of the four planetary elements: water, air, fire, and earth. 

But scientific content has always been ECR’s main draw, and ECR 2025 so far hasn’t disappointed. Below are some highlights from the first two days of clinical presentations … 

  • New data from the MASAI study of AI for mammography screening were presented Wednesday, finding that ScreenPoint Medical’s Transpara algorithm cut interval cancers 12%.
  • Using AI instead of double-reading for biennial digital mammography screening saved $64k per 1k patients thanks to lower cancer treatment costs. 
  • The MA-DETECT study of 350 women used breast MRI on women with negative mammograms, with a cancer detection rate of 26 additional cancers per 1k women.
  • Aidoc’s AI algorithm for detecting cervical spine fractures on CT found 23 fractures missed by radiologists out of 2.3k scans, saving €6k per missed fracture.
  • Gleamer’s BoneView AI algorithm for fracture detection detected 81% of fractures missed by radiologists in patients who had filed compensation claims, potentially saving €265k.
  • The percentage of AI research studies with peer-reviewed evidence grew in 2023 compared to 2020 (67% vs. 35%) but the ratio showing clinical efficacy fell (52% vs. 55%).
  • Subtle Medical’s SubtleHD MRI enhancement algorithm improved signal-to-noise ratio by 73% and image sharpness by 27% in 205 MRI scans.
  • In a secondary analysis of the MIDAS study of clinical decision support in Germany, requests for inappropriate imaging were more frequent in women than men (7.3% vs. 6.1%). 
  • A majority of patients in Italy preferred ChatGPT-authored reports over those penned by radiologists (61%), with 70% saying they were more readable and 58% saying they were easier to understand. 
  • Researchers found that oral glucosamine could be used for breast MRI exams with a chemical exchange saturation transfer sequence. They found higher CEST values in tumor regions in a small study of 16 patients.
  • Italian researchers combined CT and contrast-enhanced mammography with the same contrast agent, finding higher sensitivity and specificity for detecting metastases than traditional methods.
  • German researchers ran a 0.4T permanent magnet MRI scanner off the grid for a year with solar panels and a generator-supported battery system. 
  • Using deep-learning reconstruction for MRI scans reduced energy consumption 65% thanks to shorter scan times while maintaining image quality. 
  • More patients preferred contrast-enhanced mammography (72%) compared to breast MRI (26%), mostly due to faster exam times and lack of claustrophobia. 

The Takeaway

This week’s ECR 2025 demonstrates the rich scientific research being conducted across Europe – much of which will eventually translate into commercial products. As the U.S. experiences regulatory turbulence and uncertainty around long-term funding for academic research, the focal point of radiology innovation could soon shift across the Atlantic.

RSNA Goes All-In on AI

Posted on by Brian Casey

CHICAGO – It’s been AI all the time this week at RSNA 2024. From clinical sessions packed with the latest findings on AI’s utility to technical exhibits crowded with AI vendors, artificial intelligence and its impact on radiology was easily the hottest trend at McCormick Place.

Radiology greeted AI with initial skepticism when the first applications like IBM Watson were introduced at RSNA around a decade ago.

  • But the field’s attitude has been evolving to the point where AI is now being viewed as perhaps the only technology that can save the discipline from the vicious cycle of rising exam volume, falling reimbursement, and pervasive levels of burnout.

RSNA telegraphed the shift last year by announcing that Stanford University’s Curtis Langlotz, MD, PhD, would be RSNA 2024 president. 

  • Langlotz is one of the most respected AI researchers and educators in radiology, and even coined the phrase that while AI would not replace radiologists, radiologists with AI would replace those without it. 

In his president’s address, Langlotz echoed this theme, painting a picture of a future radiology in which humans and machines collaborate to deliver better patient care than either could alone.

  • Langlotz’s talk was followed by a presentation by another prominent AI luminary – Nina Kottler, MD, of Radiology Partners.

Kottler took on the concerns that many in radiology (and in the world at large) have about AI as a disruptive force in a field that cherishes its traditions.

  • She advised radiology to take a leading role in AI adoption, repeating a famous quote that the best way to predict the future is to create it yourself. 

What were the other trends besides AI at RSNA 2024? They included…

  • Photon-counting CT, which is likely to see new market entrants in 2025.
  • Total-body PET, with PET scanners that have extra-long detector arrays.
  • Theranostics, a discipline that integrates diagnosis and therapy and promises to breathe new life into SPECT.
  • CT colonography and CCTA, which will see positive reimbursement changes in 2025.
  • Continued growth of CT lung screening, especially as a tool for opportunistic screening of other conditions.
  • Continued expansion of AI for breast screening.

The Takeaway

The RSNA meeting has been called radiology’s Super Bowl and World Cup all rolled into one, and this year didn’t disappoint. RSNA 2024 showed that radiology is prepared to fully embrace AI – and a future in which humans and machines collaborate to deliver better patient care.

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