“Breast tomosynthesis will be introduced, it’s just a question of when and to what extent.”
Lund University’s Sophia Zackrisson PhD forecasting greater adoption of DBT in breast cancer screening following her study detailing 3D mammography’s cancer detection advantages compared to traditional mammography.
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- Carestream – Focused on delivering innovation that is life changing – for patients, customers, employees, communities and other stakeholders
- Focused Ultrasound Foundation – Accelerating the development and adoption of focused ultrasound
- Medmo – Helping underinsured Americans save on medical scans by connecting them to imaging providers with unfilled schedule time
- Pocus Systems – A new Point of Care Ultrasound startup, combining a team of POCUS veterans with next-generation technology to disrupt the industry
Keep these companies in mind each time you enjoy The Imaging Wire. Check them out and see how they’re driving our industry forward, and shoot them a note if you’re interested in learning more. They’re all great companies run by solid people.
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GE Updates Invenia ABUS
GE Healthcare announced the US launch of the Invenia Automated Breast Ultrasound (ABUS) 2.0, introducing new features focused on improving the exam experience (for patients and operators) and customizing exams for each patient. The 2nd generation Invenia system remains the only FDA-approved ultrasound breast screening system designed for detecting cancer in dense breast tissue, touting a 55% improved breast cancer detection rate when used in addition to mammography (vs. just mammography). GE wisely referenced the legal and procedural momentum towards informing patients about their breast density and offering supplemental screening to those with dense breasts, which indeed creates far more opportunities for the Invenia 2.0 than when its predecessor launched in 2014.
Philips’ AI Incubator
Philips is trying out the role of incubator, launching a 12-week startup collaboration program that will host 19 different healthcare AI startups (out of 750 applicants) at the company’s innovation hubs in Cambridge (US), Eindhoven (the Netherlands), Bangalore (India), and Shanghai (China). The new program focuses on the application of AI-based clinical decision support tools (e.g. image interpretation, analysis and integration, and workflow tools), giving the startups access to Philips’ know-how and ecosystem (hospital, academic, industry and financial partners), and “validating their propositions, helping to build, test and scale their ideas, and exploring possible collaborations.” That last “possible collaborations” part is likely of the greatest interest to Philips, and who can blame them given the AI leadership race that’s underway.
Breast Density DL Model Gets Clinical
A team of Boston area researchers developed a deep learning model that can match experienced mammographers’ ability to measure breast density. Here’s how: the researchers trained the DL model on BI-RADS breast density interpretations from 41,479 mammograms (27,684 women), tested it on a set of 8,677 mammograms (5,741 women) and a five-radiologist reader study on 500 mammograms, and then implemented it in clinical practice where eight radiologists reviewed 10,763 consecutive mammograms using the model. These three groups found that the model “worked remarkably well,” with radiologists agreeing with the model’s assessment in roughly 95% of all cases. Just as notable given that most AI studies are still limited to academia, the new DL model has been in use at Mass General Hospital since the start of 2018, interpreting over 16,000 scans so far this year.
A Contrast Dye Kidney Solution
Canadian researchers discovered why contrast dyes used in imaging procedures (specifically, angiography) can damage kidneys and outlined ways to make these tests safer for people at risk for acute kidney injury. The researchers used high-powered microscopes to map the progression of contrast dye through the mouse kidneys, revealing that dye flushes through fully-hydrated kidneys but is absorbed into kidneys with low hydration, which can cause inflation and lead to serious damage. As a result of this finding, researchers developed a drug that stops the kidney from absorbing the dye, potentially allowing the use of contrast dyes in at-risk patients without harming their kidneys.
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- A Swedish study (n=14,848) found that 3D mammography (DBT) detects 34% more breast cancers compared to traditional mammography. The study found 139 breast cancers in 137 women, with DBT detecting more cancers per 1,000 women screened (8.7 vs. 7.3) and achieving a higher sensitivity than digital mammography (81% vs. 60%), but lower specificity (97.2% vs. 98%) and more call-backs.
- NEVER STOP. That’s Fujifilm Holdings’ new global branding campaign, intended to highlight the company’s diverse business and its commitment to driving corporate growth through taking-on new challenges and focusing on innovation. The campaign points to how Fujifilm overcame the decline of its (very profitable) film business and its related evolution to a diversified company, placing a particularly high emphasis on its growth in the medical field.
- Science and marketing intersected last weekend at the Eindhoven Marathon in the Netherlands last weekend through a partnership between Philips, ultrasound probe attachment company Usono, and Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). The groups connected Philips’ Lumify mobile ultrasound to four marathon runners using Usono’s new ProbeFix Dynamic fixation device, performing a 10-second ultrasound on the runners’ upper leg muscles every kilometer, that will later be studied by TU/e researchers to understand the impact of intensive sports on the human body.
- PACS company Intelerad launched its cloud-based nuage Patient Portal, allowing imaging providers to give their patients self-service access to their exam history, images, and reports (and the ability to grant access to anyone). In addition to improved patient access, the nuage Patient Portal is also highlighted as a way for imaging providers to eliminate the costs and inefficiencies associated with burning patient images to CDs.
- Researchers developed a new convolutional neural network (CNN) approach that could improve radiologist classification of osteoarthritis on knee X-rays. The CNN (based on 26k images) classified osteoarthritis rates with 70% to 86% specificity (most accurate for patients with either no OA or severe OA) and 68% to 99% sensitivity (most accurate for moderate and severe OA).
- Fujifilm announced the launch of Fujifilm Toyama Chemical Co., Ltd., following its previously announced acquisition of Toyama Chemical Co., Ltd. and merger with Fujifilm RI Pharma Co., Ltd. The newly-formed company will focus on the R&D, manufacturing, and sales of diagnostic and therapeutic drugs (including radiopharmaceuticals), with future plans to place a greater emphasis on the development of new drugs.
- iCAD hit the presses to highlight results from a study on the benefits of its AI solution for digital breast tomosynthesis, revealing improvements in reader sensitivity (8% higher avg.), specificity (6.9% higher avg.), and reading times (52.7% faster avg.). The solution already has its CE Mark and is awaiting FDA clearance.
- Carestream announced that it will install its Vue Cloud Clinical Collaboration Platform at Guadalupe Regional Medical Center in Seguin, Texas. The enterprise imaging solution will be delivered in a monthly as-a-service-style structure and will provide Guadalupe a core PACS feature set (workflow, image, report access, archiving) with added advanced visualization, multimedia enhanced reporting, integrated voice recognition, and analytics.
- A Washington University research team found that lung cancer CT screening performed more frequently than every six months does not improve survival rates (overall or post-recurrence) for patients who already underwent surgical resection for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The research studied data from 4,463 patients who received operations/treatment for stage I-to-III NSCLC in 2006/2007 and grouped them according to CT scanning regularity (3-month, 6-month, annual), finding no significant difference between the three and six-month groups over the following five years.
- Conquest Imaging expanded its ultrasound parts, probes, and service businesses, shifting its probe repairs in-house and reducing its probe prices by between 20% and 50% as a result of the new capability.
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- This Carestream video demonstrates pediatric wrist imaging with the OnSight 3D Extremity System, which is particularly suitable for children due to its high resolution, low dose, and ability to image all planes at the same resolution.
- The POCUS Systems founding team has over 80 years of combined experience in the ultrasound industry.
- This Focused Ultrasound Foundation video details the results from its recently concluded Alzheimer’s Disease trial.
- Time is money for imaging centers and slow days can be costly. This video from Medmo outlines how participating in its marketplace helps imaging centers and radiologists keep their schedules full and their imaging systems running.
