Heard on the exhibit floor at HIMSS 2023.

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Imaging IT

Headlines from HIMSS 2023

CHICAGO – It does indeed feel like 2019 again at HIMSS 2023, which opened this week in the Windy City. Major stories at the show include generative AI for medical use, consumer cloud players planting their flags in healthcare, and the ongoing need for healthcare IT to help with rising medical procedure volume and growing burnout among healthcare professionals.

But an underlying subtext of this week’s show is that the disruptions and travel restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic are behind us. At long last the HIMSS show has returned to a sense of normalcy. 

On-site attendance at HIMSS 2022 in Orlando was around 29k, down sharply from the 43k at HIMSS 2019. Early midweek figures from HIMSS 2023 place attendance at 35k; this sounds about right based on the crowded hallways, presentation rooms, and technical exhibits at McCormick Place (and especially the line at Starbucks in the Grand Concourse). 

What are other trends at HIMSS 2023? They include: 

• Generative AI spreading throughout healthcare. Radiology was one of the first medical specialties to explore the potential of large language models like ChatGPT, but healthcare IT is getting into the act as well. At HIMSS, vendors are inking partnerships to put ChatGPT to work for functions like clinical decision support.
• Cloud storage providers are in healthcare to stay. After years of dabbling, the large cloud players – Amazon, Google, and Microsoft – appear to be making a major play in cloud-based healthcare, signing partnerships with IT and radiology OEMs.
• Healthcare IT helping providers. The conversations at HIMSS 2023 are focusing on leveraging technology to help providers cope with rising procedure volume and burned-out staff. 
• Pathology is finally ready to go digital. The technological challenges to digitizing, managing, and archiving massive whole slide images appear to be solved. Now all that’s left is to convince pathologists to take the digital plunge.

The Takeaway

Prior to the pandemic, HIMSS was perhaps the fastest-growing healthcare conference, and this week in Chicago shows it’s back. The crowded halls are a welcome sign not only for healthcare IT, but also for other medical meetings on the calendar.  

Check out videos from HIMSS 2023 on our LinkedIn page and YouTube channel. And keep an eye out for the editorial teams for Imaging Wire and our sister publications Cardiac Wire and Digital Health Wire in McCormick Place – we’d love to say hello!

Intelerad HIMSS 2023 Highlights

Intelerad is showcasing its enhanced Enterprise Imaging and Informatics Suite at booth #3601 during HIMSS 2023. Book your visit today to see how the suite features the largest medical image exchange network in the world, following Intelerad’s recent acquisition of Life Image.

See How Subtle Supports Accelerated MRI

Looking for a way to do faster MRI scans without losing image quality? Learn about the impact that Subtle Medical’s SubtleMR software has on accelerated MRI sequences in this case review image series.

The Wire

• UnitedHealthcare sues RP: In a major clash of healthcare titans, UnitedHealthcare has sued Radiology Partners in a court in California. According to Law.com, UnitedHealthcare is claiming tens of millions of dollars in damages. The suit accuses Radiology Partners of allegedly engaging in a “pass-through” billing scheme in which RP billed UnitedHealthcare at inflated prices for services that were not performed. UnitedHealthcare is also in a legal dispute with Envision Healthcare over billing rates.

• Microsoft Signs Epic for Generative AI: Microsoft and Epic got HIMSS attendees buzzing by announcing an extension of their relationship with the goal of integrating generative AI tools like ChatGPT into EHRs.The companies hope to leverage the power of ChatGPT for tasks like drafting messages and bringing natural language queries and interactive data analysis to Epic’s SlicerDicer self-service reporting tool. Several healthcare sites are already testing the integration, which is a big step toward making generative AI a clinical reality.

• Vendors Form AI Alliance: Several imaging vendors have formed an alliance to use generative AI to help create synthetic medical imaging data for research use. Segmed, NVIDIA, and RadImageNet are collaborating on the project, with Segmed offering access to synthetic medical imaging data on its Segmed Insight self-serve medical data curation platform. The project should make it easier to develop large databases that can be used to train AI algorithms for clinical use.

• Nuance Adds Partners to PIN: Nuance has added several new companies to its Precision Imaging Network, a cloud-based platform for deploying AI algorithms. The recent additions to PIN include Qure.ai, which offers a variety of AI applications, and Us2.ai, which has focused on providing AI to the echocardiography segment. The additions highlight the importance of platforms like PIN for the rapid deployment of AI.

• GEHC Debuts at HIMSS, Closes Imactis: In its debut HIMSS as an independent entity, GE HealthCare is making several new product launches at HIMSS 2023. ReadySee enables asset management and network supervision, helping users gain insights into medical devices and infrastructure, Portrait Mobile is a 510(k)-pending wireless patient monitoring application, and CT-Navigation provides real-time 3D CT navigation. Also, GEHC closed its purchase of Imactis, a developer of CT navigation software. 

• Philips Inks Pact with AWS: Philips has signed a deal with Amazon Web Services that makes its HealthSuite Imaging software available on the AWS cloud platform. The companies will also work together to develop cloud-based generative AI applications for clinical decision support, using Amazon Bedrock, a new package of tools for generative AI that Amazon launched on April 17. The deal highlights the growing influence in radiology of generative AI and large language models like ChatGPT. 

• 4D Flow MRI for Atrial Fibrillation: New research presented at this week’s ARRS 2023 meeting show the benefits of cardiac MRI in atrial fibrillation patients for left atrial appendage occlusion, an interventional procedure to block the LAA to prevent blood clots from entering the bloodstream. Researchers used 4D MRI with Philips’ Achieva 3.0 TX 3-tesla scanner to analyze blood flow dynamics in 3D-printed models of the atrium, helping determine the best technique for correctly occluding the LAA. 

• RapidAI Notches AI Clearance: RapidAI has received FDA clearance for Rapid NCCT Stroke, an AI algorithm that evaluates non-contrast CT scans to detect intracranial hemorrhage and large vessel occlusion. Non-contrast CT is widely used for stroke evaluation in emergency settings, and the algorithm can notify care providers through the Rapid mobile app if an abnormality is detected. RapidAI most recently got clearance for an algorithm for PE detection, showing the importance of AI for triage and notification.  

• HeartFlow Launches RoadMap Analysis: Six months after gaining FDA clearance, HeartFlow officially launched its RoadMap Analysis solution, which uses AI to help CCTA readers identify stenosis. RoadMap Analysis provides visual and quantitative insights into the narrowing of all major coronary arteries (RCA, LAD, LCX, and left main), including stenosis location and severity. The addition of RoadMap Analysis makes HeartFlow the only company supporting anatomical and physiological visualization of the coronary arteries.

• Shimadzu Sources Konica Minolta Panels: Shimadzu Medical Systems USA has begun shipping digital X-ray systems using Konica Minolta’s AeroDR glassless flat-panel x-ray detectors. The panels are available on Shimadzu’s RADspeed Pro premium X-ray table and MobileDaRt MX8-k series mobile X-ray system. Glassless digital X-ray detectors are lighter and more durable than traditional detectors with glass substrates, making them well-suited to applications like mobile imaging.

• Hospital CEO Turnover Up 58%: It’s been a tough stretch for healthcare execs, but it’s still surprising to see that 41 hospital CEOs exited their roles in January and February alone. That figure’s from a Challenger, Gray & Christmas report, which found a 58% year-over-year increase in hospital CEO departures. More departures are likely on the way as hospitals “recover from the pandemic, consolidate, and respond to both worker shortages and increased costs.”

Annalise.ai’s AI Confidence Bar

Curious how certain your AI is about its own finding? Annalise.ai’s confidence bar displays the likelihood of each finding and the AI model’s level of certainty, helping clinicians perform their interpretations with greater confidence.

The Complete Guide to Radiology AI

Radiology is leading healthcare’s AI revolution, and yet many people in radiology are just starting to build their understanding of AI. That’s why Bayer published its truly Complete Guide to Artificial Intelligence in Radiology, detailing how AI can address radiology’s challenges, AI’s core use cases, and AI’s path towards adoption.

Real-Time Insights for Improved Care

Discover how GE HealthCare’s digital solutions enhance collaboration, optimize workflows, and offer real-time insights for improved care. Schedule a meeting at HIMSS 2023 in booth #1712 to explore how these solutions can solve your biggest health IT challenges. Learn more about GEHC @ HIMSS.

The Resource Wire

• Imaging’s cloud evolution didn’t happen all at once. This Change Healthcare animation details the history of digital imaging architectures, and how cloud-native imaging improves stability and scalability, ease of management, patient data security, and operating costs.

• See how adopting ClearRead CT allowed Michigan’s Regional Medical Imaging’s radiologists to complete their chest CT reads faster and more accurately in this Riverain Technologies case study.

• Imaging AI is evolving fast, but radiology leaders’ expectations for their AI technologies might be evolving even faster. In this Imaging Wire Show with Dr. Charlene Liew of SingHealth and Dr. Nina Kottler of Radiology Partners, we explore radiology leaders’ current and future expectations for AI, and the central role platforms play in their AI roadmaps.

• Enlitic is not a point-solution AI company. They are delivering unique workflow solutions that enable physicians to focus on patients and tasks that matter. You can learn more at booth #7316 at HIMSS 2023 – schedule your appointment today. 

• Point-of-care MRI is being used in real-world situations to impact patient care decisions. In this webinar, Hyperfine Senior Medical Director Dr. Chip Truwit discusses four cases in which portable MRI was used to answer clinical questions in the intensive care unit. 

• Meet Merge at HIMSS 2023. Visit booth #3831 for a firsthand look at how Merge solutions from Merative can help you address your enterprise imaging and interoperability needs today, and face your future with confidence. Schedule a meeting today.

• Now available on-demand: Learn how to optimize your CT workflow from scan to reconstruction in this webinar recording. Find out how NYU Langone Health leverages technologies from Siemens Healthineers to streamline their workflow and improve patient care. 

• The flow of new AI applications makes it hard for radiology groups to determine which tools would help them and how IT teams can handle increased AI adoption. In this Blackford Analysis white paper, radiology and IT leaders from NYU and Canopy Partners share how a platform approach alongside a curated marketplace can help solve these challenges.

• Today’s employment environment in radiology has never been more challenging. But there are tools you can use to keep your radiologists happy and engaged, according to this white paper from Medality. 

• We talk a lot about AI’s potential to expand echo access, and this Imaging Wire Show reveals that ultrasound’s AI-driven expansion might go far beyond what many of us had in mind. Check out our discussion with Duke Health’s Madhav Swaminathan, MBBS, MD and Us2.ai’s Carolyn Lam MBBS, PhD and James Hare, to see how AI is democratizing echo exams.

• Arterys’ Cardio AI solution recently added a new Atrial Volumes feature that allows cardiologists and radiologists to easily quantify volumes for both left and right atria in cardiac MRI images.

• See the art of the possible for healthcare at HIMSS 2023 and learn how Microsoft and Nuance are making it real with generative and conversational AI, ambient intelligence, revenue integrity, radiology, and patient engagement solutions. Learn more or schedule a meeting at booth #912. 

• The One Viewer philosophy from Visage offers end users from across the enterprise the chance to get access to Visage 7’s powerful tools based on their clinical need, with the same #1 rated viewer for multiple workflows. Book a demo at booth #4308 at HIMSS 2023 to see for yourself.

• Explore how United Imaging is reinventing the medical imaging business, including downtime rebates, lifetime upgrades, and making sure their customers truly are successful.