Penn Medicine radiologist, Saurabh Jha, MD, on AI’s reliance on reimbursements for adoption.

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Tune in to the latest Imaging Wire Show featuring Canon Medical Systems’ vascular leader, Bill Newsom. We explore the meaningful innovation that went into Canon’s 4D CT technology, and how coupling spectral CT with an angiography C-arm is impacting providers and patients. If you’re ready to get more from your interventional suite, you should check this out.

Medical Imaging

The Medical Imaging Economy

With economic warning signs flashing brighter by the day, and hospitals continuing to struggle, it’s hard not to be concerned about medical imaging’s economic situation. However, the major imaging companies’ latest round of earnings suggest that there might be more reasons to remain confident. 

• Agfa – Agfa’s two imaging divisions had very different Q3s, as HealthCare IT posted solid revenue and earnings growth (+25.7% to $64M; +63.4% to $4.1M EBIT), and Radiology Solutions saw modest revenue growth and a big earnings decline (+1.5% to $121M; -69.3% to $2.9M EBIT).

• Canon – Canon Medical Systems continued its upswing, posting solid revenue (+9% to $908.5M) and operating profit (+7.5% to $46M) growth amid rising orders and strong post-COVID demand.

• Fujifilm – Fujifilm’s Healthcare unit posted yet another positive quarter, as imaging drove big increases to revenue (+17.1% to $1.7B) and operating income (+24.4% to $236M). 

• GE HealthCare – GE HealthCare posted its third straight quarter of revenue growth (+10% to $4.6B), while inflation led to slightly lower profit ($700M).

• Hologic – The semiconductor shortage caused Hologic’s breast imaging revenue to fall yet again (-20.2% to $212M), while the company’s overall net income plummeted (-63.9% to $118.7M).

• Konica Minolta – Konica Minolta’s Healthcare revenue increased for the second straight quarter (+14% to $254M), although the division continued to operate at a loss (-$18M).  

• Philips – Philips’ Diagnosis & Treatment division’s comparable sales fell for the third straight quarter (-2% to $2.37B) due to component shortages, while division profit also declined (Adjusted EBITA -31.6% to $216M).

• RadNet – RadNet posted another quarter of rising revenues (+5.2% to $350M), although the labor shortage and related payroll inflation cut into its profitability (Adjusted EBITDA -16.1% to $45.8M).

• Siemens Healthineers – Siemens’ imaging business remained the company’s (and industry’s) top performer, as strong MRI and CT sales drove yet another quarter of revenue growth (+8.1% to $3.35B) and solid margins (Adjusted EBIT +22.4% to $776M).

Although several companies noted economic and inflation headwinds, nearly every earnings report forecasted positive Q4s and 2023s, as supply chain challenges subside and the post-COVID demand surge continues. 

The Takeaway

There are plenty of reasons to be concerned about the economy. However, most companies still reported solid healthcare/imaging financials, and most factors that hurt Q3 performances are likely to improve throughout 2023. Plus, healthcare is historically insulated from economic downturns. 

That doesn’t mean that the next year (or two) will be easy, but it does suggest that medical imaging could fare better than many sectors of the overall economy.

GE Healthcare’s Future Ready CT Platform

Check out this Imaging Wire Show featuring GE Healthcare’s CT and MI Chief Marketing Officer, Sonia Sahney, for an excellent conversation exploring GE’s platform-based approach to solving imaging teams’ scalability challenges.

Einstein & Bayer’s Injection System Upgrade

See how Einstein Healthcare Network reduced its syringe expenses, enhanced its syringe loading, and improved its contrast documentation when it upgraded to Bayer Radiology’s MEDRAD Stellant FLEX CT Injection System.

The Wire

• Us2.ai Validated: A Nature study showed that Us2.ai’s echo AI solution can interpret 23 echocardiographic parameters (e.g. cardiac volumes, ejection fraction, and Doppler measurements) comparably to human experts, and with less variability. Using echo exams from 600 people (421 w/ heart failure), the FDA validation study showed that Us2.ai measurements had fewer and smaller differences compared to three human experts than when the experts were compared with each other. Noting that AI measurements were produced in one minute, these results suggest that Us2.ai can improve echo reporting efficiency and accessibility.

• TGH’s First TBI Blood Test: Tampa General Hospital became the first US hospital to use Abbott’s i-STAT TBI plasma test, which evaluates whether ED patients require CT scans to check for brain tissue damage. The handheld device analyzes blood samples for TBI-related markers, delivering results in 15 minutes. i-STAT is part of a growing field of biomarker tests (blood, pupil, voice, etc.) that could change imaging’s diagnostic role in areas such as TBI / concussions and cancer screening.

• PocketHealth Record Retrieval: PocketHealth advanced its image sharing strategy with its new Record Retrieval solution, a first-of-its-kind tool for requesting and retrieving patients’ prior imaging. Record Retrieval creates a workflow for automatically importing prior exam data into PACS, allowing providers to batch-request records from multiple external organizations, automate patient consent, and streamline the upload process when fulfilling image record requests.

• Multidisciplinary ICU Quality Conference: Holding multidisciplinary conferences (MDCs) to allow feedback between radiologists and ICU physicians are effective for identifying and reducing imaging-related errors. A German hospital’s 241 MDCs involving 973 exams uncovered 139 imaging-related “quality management events” (QM) over 1.5 years, while the incidence of QMs declined significantly between the first and second half of the initiative (22.9% to 6.0%).

• KLAS on PACS: KLAS Research’s 2022 PACS Report (n = 368 orgs) revealed that over 30% of healthcare organizations are “at risk of replacing” their current PACS vendor due to unsatisfactory service, stalled innovation, or acquisition-related disruptions. KLAS once again gave Sectra its top rank (followed by Infinitt) and highlighted positive trends among Fujifilm, Merative, and Agfa users. Since readers often ask us this question, we don’t know why the KLAS PACS report excludes Visage.

• Fujifilm’s New Cardiac CT: Fujifilm Healthcare Americas launched its SCENARIA View Focus Edition CT Scanner with Cardio StillShot, creating a cardiac imaging version of its SCENARIA View Focus Edition CT. Cardio StillShot is a cardiac motion correction feature that enables 6x higher temporal resolution (28 vs. 175 milliseconds), allowing the scanner to support a wider range of cardiac CT exams.

• Immediate Radiographer CXR Reporting: A study out of the UK supports having radiographers immediately produce CXR reports (at least in countries where they report). Analysis of 8,682 CXRs found that immediate radiographer reporting cut the time from CXR to lung cancer diagnosis in half (32 vs. 63 days) compared to standard radiographer reporting within 24hrs. These immediate reports didn’t impact quality, as reviewing thoracic radiologists were equally likely to agree with radiographer and radiologist-created reports in the 16.5% of discordant cases.

• Enlitic and Vital Standardize: Enlitic will deploy its Curie|ENDEX application into Vital Radiology’s workflows, helping to standardize the 500k exams routed to the UK telerad group each year, while reducing their time spent deciphering exam terminology from different sites and reorganizing hanging protocols. Vital Radiology joins a growing list of Curie|ENDEX adopters, which also includes University of Texas Health San Antonio and large Spanish telerad TMC. 

• Cardiac MRI Feature Tracking: New research strengthens the body of evidence supporting the implementation of cardiac MRI feature tracking on patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. Researchers used feature tracking to calculate six myocardial strain parameters (left and right ventricular global radial, global circumferential, and global longitudinal strain), finding that all six independently predicted death or heart failure hospitalization (HR: 0.92 to 1.16). However, when accounting for confounding variables, only LV global longitudinal strain was an independent predictor (HR: 1.13).

• Healthcare Hiring Boost: The October Jobs Report revealed that the healthcare sector added 53k jobs just last month, with ambulatory services, hospitals, and nursing and residential care facilities leading the job gains (31k, 11k, 11k). The industry has now fully recovered any jobs lost during the pandemic after accelerating hiring during 2022, adding an average of 47k new jobs each month (vs. 9k per month last year).

• Guerbet & Merative End AI Collaboration: Guerbet announced the termination of its four-year AI development collaboration with Merative (formerly IBM Watson Health), following a shift in Merative’s AI strategy. Guerbet will maintain assets produced through the alliance (source code, algorithms, other IP) and will continue its AI R&D efforts in preparation for a commercial launch.

Working Out Your AI Business Case?

Check out this helpful Blackford Analysis report on how to calculate AI’s clinical, IT, administrative, and financial value to your organization.

The Intelerad Cloud at RSNA

The Intelerad team will be at RSNA 2022 (booth #6107) to share how the new Intelerad Cloud provides everything you need to shape your enterprise imaging strategy.

The Resource Wire

• Imaging data can come with either a big cost or a big ROI, and this Enlitic post shows you exactly how imaging data might be driving these outcomes in your organization.

• Change Healthcare’s cloud-native, zero-footprint Stratus Imaging PACS is live in clinical use. See how Stratus Imaging PACS is helping radiology practices improve productivity and patient care, while eliminating the cost and resource constraints of on-premise systems.

• Enterprise imaging is mainly adopted in the largest hospitals, but that doesn’t have to be the case. Check out this Imaging Wire Show featuring Novarad product leader Dave GrandPre, where we discuss what’s caused this divide and why smaller hospitals should adopt enterprise imaging.

• We may be entering a third wave of imaging AI’s rapid evolution, that brings a shift from narrow point solutions to comprehensive multi-finding AI systems. Join this discussion with annalise.ai Chief Medical Officer, Rick Abramson, MD, exploring how this transition could take place.

• Ready to make MRI more accessible to your patients? See how Siemens Healthineers’ MAGNETOM Free.Max expands MR imaging to more patients, sites, and providers.

• This Riverain Technologies case study details how Einstein Medical Center adopted ClearRead CT enterprise-wide (all 13 CT scanners) and how the solution allowed Einstein radiologists to identify small nodules faster and more reliably.

• The Hyperfine Swoop Portable MRI has been used to care for children with hydrocephalus at Uganda’s Cure Hospital since 2021, improving imaging access without exposing patients to ionizing radiation. Learn more about the Swoop’s hydrocephalus impact here.

• Check out our interview with United Imaging CEO, Jeffrey Bundy, who explores company culture’s central role in medical imaging and how to build, improve, and maintain culture. If you’re ready to improve your organization’s culture, this interview is a great way to start.

• Check out this talk from Eliot Siegel, MD on the “Hype, Myth, Reality and Next Steps” of imaging AI, including a profile on Canon’s AiCE Deep Learning Reconstruction solution at around the 4-minute mark.

• See how Dubai-based healthcare leader Aster DM Healthcare leveraged the CARPL platform to connect its doctors, data scientists, and imaging workflows, and support its AI projects and development infrastructure.

• Check out this Imaging Wire Show featuring Us2.ai’s co-founders – James Hare and Dr. Carolyn Lam – for a great discussion about Us2.ai’s continued clinical and commercial expansion, and their efforts to improve echocardiography accuracy, efficiency, and accessibility.

• Imaging AI’s clinical and productivity benefits are becoming increasingly clear, but selecting and implementing the right solution can be difficult. This Arterys paper details how an AI platform strategy allows providers to efficiently and accurately evaluate AI applications, so they can start realizing their targeted AI benefits.