What is theranostics, and how is it changing cancer diagnosis and treatment? In this Imaging Wire Show, we talked to Shari Manuel, Chris Heble, and Elfareato Remekie of GE HealthCare about the exciting new developments happening in theranostics that are enabling a new era of precision healthcare.

James Whitfill, MD, in a keynote address at SIIM 2023.

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Imaging IT

Better Together at SIIM

Humans have a deep-seated need for interpersonal contact, and understanding that need should guide not only how we structure our work relationships in the post-COVID era, but also our development and deployment of new technologies like AI in radiology. 

That’s according to James Whitfill, MD, who gave Thursday’s opening address at SIIM 2023. Whitfill’s talk – which was followed by a raucous audience participation exercise – was a ringing demonstration that in-person meetings like SIIM still have relevance despite the proliferation of Zoom calls and remote work. 

Whitfill, chief transformation officer at HonorHealth in Arizona and an internist at the University of Arizona, was chair of the SIIM board in 2020 when the society made the difficult decision to move its annual meeting to be fully online during the pandemic.

The experience led Whitfill to ponder whether technology designed to help us work and collaborate virtually was an adequate substitute for in-person interaction. Unfortunately, the research suggests otherwise: 

• Numerous studies have demonstrated the negative effect that the isolation of the COVID pandemic has had on adolescent mental health and academic performance 
• Loneliness can also have a negative effect on physical well-being, with a recent U.S. Surgeon General’s report finding that prolonged isolation is the health equivalent of smoking 15 cigarettes a day
• Peer-reviewed studies have shown that people working in in-person collaborative environments are about 10% more productive and creative than those working virtually. 

Whitfill’s talk was especially on-point given recent research indicating that workers across different industries who used AI were more lonely than those who didn’t, a phenomenon that shouldn’t be ignored by those planning radiology’s AI-based future. 

That said, virtual technologies can still play a role in making access to information more equitable. Whitfill noted that some 160 people were following the SIIM proceedings entirely online, and they otherwise would not have been able to benefit from the meeting’s content.

To drive the point home, Whitfill then had audience members participate in a team-based Rochambeau competition that sent peals of laughter ringing through Austin Convention Center.  

The Takeaway
Whitfill’s point was underscored repeatedly by SIIM 2023 attendees, who reiterated the value of interpersonal connections and networking at the conference. It’s ironic that a meeting devoted at least in part to intelligence that’s artificial has made us better appreciate relationships that are real.

Innovations in Neuroimaging

What are some of the latest innovations in neuroimaging that can lead to workflow improvements at imaging facilities? Learn more in this presentation from the ASNR webinar series, supported by Subtle Medical.

Imaging AI’s Next Wave

We may be entering a third wave of imaging AI’s rapid evolution, one that brings a shift from narrow point solutions to comprehensive multi-finding AI systems. Hear this discussion with Annalise.ai Chief Medical Officer Rick Abramson, MD, exploring how this transition could take place, how radiologist and VC perspectives on AI are changing, and how AI might continue to evolve in the future.

The Wire

• US Healthcare Expenditures to Hit $7.2T: CMS is now predicting that a surge in Medicare spending will push US healthcare expenditures to $7.2 trillion by 2031, up from $4.3 trillion last year. The projections published in Health Affairs anticipate that the combination of an aging population and federal policy changes will grow Medicare costs by 7.5% annually between 2022 and 2031, outpacing GDP’s expected 4.6% annual growth. The IRA’s newly created $2,000 cap on Medicare Part D enrollees’ OOP costs will likely be a significant cost driver before the effects of drug price negotiations with manufacturers begin to kick in later in the decade.

• AI of Chest X-Ray Predicts Mortality: In AJR, researchers from South Korea demonstrated that a deep learning algorithm that analyzed chest X-rays predicted patient mortality better than established risk scores. In nearly 1,800 patients with community-acquired pneumonia, researchers found that the model predicted 30-day all-cause mortality better than the CURB-65 clinical risk score, which included confusion, blood urea nitrogen level, respiratory rate, blood pressure, and age ≥ 65 years (AUC range=0.77 to 0.80 vs. 0.67 to 0.73).

• ChatGPT Fabricates Medical References: Over two-thirds of medical references provided by ChatGPT were fabricated, according to researchers who asked the large language model 20 medical questions in February 2023 and then tracked its accuracy. ChatGPT’s references “looked credible” at first glance, but 69% were fabricated, researchers said in Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Digital Health. The findings reinforce concerns about ChatGPT’s “hallucination effect,” and raise questions about whether it’s ready for prime time when it comes to incorporation in patient-facing software. 

• SimonMed’s DTC Play: Imaging services provider SimonMed Imaging is going direct to consumers with SimonONE, a new MRI-based whole-body screening service. The company is offering a 20-30-minute whole-body MRI scan at a price of $650, which the company believes will undercut other providers. The scans cover 100 body structures, and AI-analyzed brain, liver, and prostate screening is also available. The move will bring SimonMed into competition with Prenuvo, which offers a whole-body DTC screening service of its own. 

• Docs Harassed on Social Media: There can be a downside to doctors who use social media for public health advocacy. A study in JAMA Network Open found that two-thirds of physicians said they had been attacked on social media, mostly for advocacy on topics like firearms, vaccinations, and abortion access. Researchers surveyed 359 physicians, finding that 66% reported harassment on social media, with high levels of gender- and race-based harassment (45% and 27%). The problem appears to have worsened since the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Us2.ai Integrates with Core Sound: Echo AI developer Us2.ai has integrated its echo AI offerings with Core Sound Imaging’s Studycast Integration Program. Launched earlier this month, the program brings software developers into Studycast, Core Sound’s environment that gives healthcare providers access to AI algorithms and other image analysis tools. Studycast users can now route selected echo images to Us2.ai, producing a full echo report and incorporating the analysis into their reports.

• Quality Reporting Problems: A new JAMA study reached a conclusion that many health systems are already all-too-familiar with: reporting on quality metrics is a costly endeavor. The researchers estimated that Johns Hopkins spent over $5.6M on quality reporting activities in 2018 alone, independent of any quality-improvement efforts, driven by 162 unique metrics that required over 100,000 staff hours. Extrapolating those findings across 4,100 acute care hospitals in the US suggests that we’re currently spending billions on quality reporting every year.

• Who Uses Patient Portals? What kind of patients use online portals to get access to their medical records? Not surprisingly, portal users were more likely to live in urban areas, have higher education levels, and be insured, while lack of awareness and technical issues were cited by patients who didn’t have portal accounts, said an article in Medical Care based on a survey of almost 500 people. Patients using portals were also much more likely to have a primary care provider (82.5% vs. 32.5%). 

• Folate Brain PET: PET brain imaging with a folate-based radiopharmaceutical can help clinicians acquire more information about brain gliomas. Writing in Frontiers in Immunology, researchers from Turku, Finland describe how they used folate PET to discover increased amounts of folate receptor expression relative to adjacent brain tissue, with such tissue showing 100 times the uptake of healthy tissue. The just-discovered phenomenon could form the basis for new glioma treatments.   

• Medical Malpractice Lawsuits: An AMA study of its Physician Practice Benchmark data found that 34% of physicians have been sued for medical malpractice during their career. A majority of general surgeons (59%) and two-thirds of OB-GYNs have faced a malpractice suit, with a heightened risk in states with strict abortion bans. Between 2016 and 2018, 65% of the cases against physicians were dropped, and of the 6% that went to trial, the jury sided with the physician 90% of the time.

• FDA Updates Software Guidance: The FDA has updated its guidance to industry for premarket submissions of medical device software. A final version of a draft issued in November 2021, the guidance updates previous FDA policies from 2005 and covers the type of documentation the agency expects for software regulatory submissions. The agency said the guidance generally applies to the device part of a combination product when that device includes a software function.

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.

A Comprehensive Approach to Theranostics

What is theranostics, and how is it changing cancer diagnosis and treatment? We talked to Shari Manuel, Chris Heble, and Elfareato Remekie of GE HealthCare in this Imaging Wire Show about the exciting new developments happening in theranostics that are enabling a new era of precision healthcare.

How VCU Health Solved Its Image Exchange Challenge

Tired of managing CDs with patient images from external sites? Find out how VCU Health solved this challenge throughout its enterprise with technology from Intelerad. 

The Resource Wire

• Clinical burnout is widespread in healthcare. What can be done to combat burnout in imaging? Listen to Sonia Gupta, MD, of Change Healthcare as she addresses the concerns and offers possible solutions that you can use right now.

• The right hanging protocol can dramatically reduce radiologist reporting time. But how can you get the best hanging protocols for your radiologists? Learn how it’s done – and find out how Curie|ENDEX can help – in this white paper from Enlitic. 

• United Imaging’s “all-in” approach means that every system ships with its entire suite of features and capabilities (no options), giving its clients more clinical flexibility and predictability.

• Faced with the task of monitoring the thousands of exams its algorithms analyze each day, Qure.ai leveraged CARPL.ai’s validation workflow to create a real-time performance dashboard. See how they did it here.

• Point-of-care MRI is being used in real-world situations to impact patient care decisions. In this recorded 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. 

• Check out this Blackford Analysis white paper detailing how children’s hospital imaging teams can leverage AI to improve modality throughput and imaging device availability.

• More AI applications are becoming available, but many healthcare organizations are reporting challenges to achieving the benefits of the technology. Learn how Merge AI Orchestrator can provide access to AI without disrupting workflow.

• What is theranostics, and how is it changing oncology patient care? Theranostics delivers precision therapy that’s personalized to every patient with targeted radioligand treatment. Learn more about theranostics and how Siemens Healthineers can support your Theranostics journey by offering precision oncology tools that cater to every step of the care pathway.

• How can AI be mobilized to automate the fight against heart disease? Us2.ai President Yoran Hummel, PhD, discusses how AI echo can be optimized in an interview on The Medical AI Podcast. 

• Emphysema is often underdiagnosed, and this can make treatment more difficult. FirstHealth of the Carolinas was able to improve its diagnosis of emphysema and enhance its CT lung screening service with AI algorithms available through Nuance Precision Imaging Network (PIN).

• What’s behind healthcare’s shift from legacy PACS to cloud-based enterprise imaging? We talked to Brad Levin of Visage Imaging at HIMSS 2023, and he explains the change and the benefits of Visage’s Visage 7 | CloudPACS solution. 

• How can your imaging facility create a foundation for MRI safety? Learn from MRI safety expert Tobias Gilk on the best practices for creating a safe environment in this podcast with Medality. 

• It says a lot when a solution works so well for a radiology department that they decide to perform a study to quantify its benefits. In this Imaging Wire Q&A, University Hospital of Zurich’s Thomas Frauenfelder discusses his experience with Riverain Technologies ClearRead CT.

• Check out this Imaging Wire Show featuring Arterys’ Director of Product Management, Maya Khalifé, PhD, discussing how to deliver clinical value with AI, Arterys’ platform approach to neuro AI, and how AI can serve radiologists today and into the future.