Since taking over as CEO of Intelerad in 2023, Jordan Bazinsky has set the company on a course to address some of the major challenges facing radiology and healthcare today. We caught up with him in this episode of The Imaging Wire Show.

Huisman M et al, in an article on AI and radiology efficiency in European Radiology. 

Imaging Wire Sponsors

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CT Scanners

AI Powers Two-for-One Screening

In our last issue, we described how effective coronary artery calcium scoring is in predicting future major adverse cardiovascular events. This week, we’re highlighting new research in AJR showing how – thanks to AI – CAC scoring can be performed on CT lung cancer screening exams, giving radiologists a two-for-one screening test.

Using data from one screening exam to also look for other diseases – known as opportunistic screening – has become a hot topic as a way to make screening even more clinically and economically effective. 

• The rise of AI has made opportunistic screening viable by giving radiologists a tool that can analyze massive amounts of data without getting tired or having to hire more staff.

In the new study, South Korean researchers leveraged the country’s CT lung cancer screening program to also screen for CAC, a known marker for future cardiac events. 

• They took two commercially available CAC scoring algorithms – Coreline Soft’s Aview CAC and Siemens Healthineers’ syngo Calcium Scoring – to analyze 1k low-dose CT chest images acquired from 2017-2023 as part of the national lung screening program. 

AI results were compared to radiologists’ interpretations of CAC presence and severity, finding … 

• Substantial agreement between both the AI algorithms and the interpreting radiologists for CAC presence and severity (kappa=0.793 & 0.671)
• The AI algorithms judged CAC to be more prevalent than radiologists (57-60% vs. 53%)
• AI was more likely to judge CAC severity as mild (35-40% vs. 28%)
• But less likely to grade it as severe (6.2%-7.3%  vs. 15%)
• MACE incidence varied by CAC severity: no CAC (1.1-1.3%), mild (3-5%), moderate (2.9-7.9%), and severe (8.6-11%)

The researchers noted that, as with other studies, MACE incidence increased with CAC severity, underlining the importance of coronary calcium evaluation and supporting the use of CT lung screening for CAC detection. 

The Takeaway

Studies like this highlight the exciting role AI can play in making opportunistic screening a reality. With AI at their side, radiologists will be able to play an even more important role in catching disease early, when it can be treated most effectively.

Best in KLAS for Image Exchange

With over 15k connected facilities and a dedicated outreach team building new connections every day, it’s no wonder Nuance PowerShare Image Sharing was named #1 Best in KLAS 2024 for image exchange. Learn more about this award-winning solution.

Blazing the Trail to the Cloud

Come for the hottest imaging technology, stay for the homemade nitro ice cream! Visit Visage Imaging at HIMSS 2024 and learn how they are trailblazing imaging’s SaaS move to the cloud. Schedule a demo today. 

The Wire

• Is AI Lightly Dressed? AI is being promoted as a cure-all for radiology’s efficiency woes that will enable imaging professionals to manage rising scan volumes by doing more with less. But in a new article in European Radiology, several thought leaders raise questions about whether “the emperor has few clothes,” maintaining that AI’s efficiency value to radiologists within today’s radiology workflow is unproven. AI has benefits for inexperienced readers or in low-resource settings, but AI developers should do more to show that AI can meaningfully boost the efficiency of experienced radiologists.  

• Nuance Expands Alliance with Providence: Nuance Communications has expanded its alliance with non-profit health system Providence to investigate ways to accelerate AI innovation and deployment at scale. Providence has already deployed Nuance’s PowerScribe, Dragon Ambient eXperience, and Dragon One Medical solutions; the new relationship will focus on improving efficiency with Microsoft Cloud for Healthcare, accelerate Providence’s development of in-house AI applications, and expand deployment of solutions like Nuance DAX Copilot for automation of clinical documentation. 

• RTs Uneasy about Remote Scanning: Remote scanning – in which radiologic technologists manage scanning conducted at other locations – is touted as a solution to staffing shortages, but RTs may be uneasy about the practice. An ASRT survey found that 7.2% of sites are using remote imaging, but 71% said they wouldn’t feel comfortable managing exams remotely as the primary technologist. Strong majorities (>97%) believe both remote and on-site technologists should be certified in the modality being used. MRI safety expert Tobias Gilk offers a commentary on LinkedIn.

• Welcome to Match Week: March 11 marks the start of Match Week, when US medical students learn the residency programs to which they’ve been assigned in the Main Residency Match. Medical students first learn March 11 whether or not they matched at all, and on Friday March 15 will discover their residency programs. Match Day is a closely watched barometer of the health of medical specialties based on medical student interest; radiology has been one of the most desired medical specialties over the past three years. 

• What’s the Best Prostate MRI Risk Calculator? MRI is showing its worth as a tool that can select which patients with elevated PSA levels should be sent on for biopsy. But which calculator works best for measuring patient risk? In JAMA Network Open, researchers compared four MRI-based calculators in a group of 2.2k patients with median PSA levels of 5.9 from North America and Europe. They found that all performed well in some scenarios, but only two – PLUM and RPCRC-MRI – worked well across all patient groups. 

• UnitedHealth Offers Cyberattack Update: UnitedHealth Group provided an update on its steps to counter the cyberattack on its Change Healthcare unit’s claims processing and payment infrastructure, which has halted medical claims processing across much of the US. The company said that electronic prescribing was fully functional on March 8, with electronic payment functionality expected by March 15 and medical claims connectivity restored March 18. UnitedHealth added that there is no evidence that any other of its systems – such as its enterprise imaging division – have been affected. 

• Deep Learning Accelerates MRI: In Lancet Oncology, researchers describe a deep learning-based MRI reconstruction protocol that they believe could enable significant acceleration of image acquisition times. They developed a deep convolutional neural network (dCNN) and applied it to MRI scans of 1.5k glioblastoma patients, finding excellent agreement with original MR images at 10X acceleration. They believe their solution could prove superior to deep learning-based acceleration tools developed by scanner OEMs, allowing more accurate images and faster acceleration speeds. 

• RadNet’s $200M Offering: RadNet last week said it plans to raise $200M in a common stock offering that could be used for future acquisitions. One such acquisition is already happening in Texas, where RadNet will be entering the Houston metropolitan area through the acquisition of Houston Medical Imaging, bringing RadNet seven imaging centers generating $28M annually in revenue. Finally, RadNet reported fourth-quarter financial results that saw revenue grow (+9.5% to $420.4M) and net income rise (+21% to $6M). 

• QTI Goes Public, Sells First System: After a long delay, acoustic breast CT developer QT Imaging has finally gone public via a SPAC merger with GigCapital5. The deal was first announced in 2022 but was delayed by negotiations that went on so long GigCapital5 filed litigation to move things along. Separately, QTI sold its first commercial QTI Breast Acoustic CT scanner, to True Health Center for Functional Medicine in California. QTI’s system uses low-frequency ultrasound to generate 3D images of breast tissue; the FDA cleared the system in 2022.

• RamSoft Lands Premier Deal: PACS developer RamSoft has signed a deal to supply teleradiology provider Premier Radiology Services with its cloud-based PowerServer PACS and OmegaAI imaging EMR. The five-year deal covers over 1k teleradiology locations and 120 radiologists, and extends a long-term relationship between RamSoft and Premier. RamSoft launched OmegaAI – which it says consolidates historically separate functions like VNA, PACS, RIS, viewer, and image exchange – in late 2022.

• Lantheus Definity’s Pediatric Approval: Lantheus’ well-established cardiac ultrasound agent Definity (perflutren lipid microsphere) will now be available for use with pediatric patients, following a recent supplemental new drug application approval from the FDA. Definity has been used for adult echo enhancement for over two decades, and adds pediatric coverage with the support of three key studies showing its safety and efficacy in children with severe heart conditions.

Radiology Insights with Ben White, MD

Join Medality founder and CEO Daniel Arnold on The Radiology Report Podcast with Ben White, MD, in a far-ranging discussion on the evolving landscape of medical imaging, including labor shortages and beyond.

New Guidelines on Heart Failure Management

The ESC has updated its heart failure guidelines, for the first time including a guideline-directed medical therapy for heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Learn how to trust echo AI to find these cases earlier in this video from Us2.ai.

AI for Fracture Detection

New AI solutions like Gleamer’s BoneView tool are enabling radiologists to detect hard-to-find fractures on X-ray. Check out this edition of The Imaging Wire Show to learn more about the company and its value proposition.

The Resource Wire

• Experience Cinematic Reality at HIMSS: Join Siemens Healthineers at HIMSS 2024 to experience the company’s new Cinematic Reality app for the Apple Vision Pro spatial computing headset. Book your meeting today. 

• Top 5 Obstacles to Radiology AI Adoption: AI is reshaping healthcare, but some healthcare providers are encountering hurdles that demand strategic approaches for successful implementation. Learn the top 5 obstacles to radiology adoption – and how to avoid them – in this blog post from Blackford. 

• Unlock Your Data’s Potential: At HIMSS 2024, learn how Enlitic can improve data quality within medical imaging and unlock the potential of your organization’s healthcare data. Book a demo today!

• Create Better Experiences for Staff and Patients: Visit Merge by Merative at HIMSS 2024 to learn how their solutions, built on a cloud-native foundation, are helping imaging organizations create better experiences for staff and patients alike. Book a meeting today.

• 4 Reasons Why Subscription Is Better: The KLAS-leading Intuition advanced visualization solution from TeraRecon includes all the clinical features you need, plus a growing list of exclusive subscription-only content. Learn more about what’s included. 

• Improving Cancer Screening by Empowering Radiologists: Learn how the use of AI-based tools for cancer screening holds immense promise for addressing the lack of trained radiologists in this downloadable eBook from Bayer. 

• Clarity, Speed, and Confidence for MRI Efficiency: Radiologists have used a variety of methods to improve efficiency, but many of these methods come with drawbacks. Find out in this article how SpinTech MRI takes on the challenge of MRI efficiency with its STAGE software.

• Lunch & Learn with Intelerad at HIMSS 2024: HIMSS 2024 is right around the corner, and Intelerad is hosting a Lunch & Learn session March 12 in Orlando that you won’t want to miss! Discover insights on improving health equity and ensuring patient access – reserve your spot today. 

• The Smooth Deployment of Lung AI: Seamless use of AI wouldn’t be possible without workflow integration, made possible in collaboration with hospital IT teams. Learn about the smooth deployment of DeepHealth’s Saige Lung solution at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust in the UK.

• Clearly Superior Chest X-Ray Imaging: Chest X-rays can help identify many abnormalities, but interpretation is often difficult due to obstructing bone, patient positioning, and image quality. Book a demo to see how Riverain’s ClearRead Xray with Clear Visual Intelligence provides a clearly superior view of the chest.

• Improving the Patient Experience: How is Clearpath improving the healthcare experience for patients? Learn more about the company and its solutions for ditching the disc when sharing images and records with patients. 

• Experience the Healthcare Revolution: Did you experience the healthcare revolution with United Imaging at RSNA 2023? From the uAIFI Technology Platform to the uDR 380i Pro mobile X-ray system, check out how United Imaging technologies are reshaping healthcare in this video. 

• Learn How to Achieve Quadruple Aim Goals: Watch a highlight from RSNA where PocketHealth Co-Founder and CEO Rishi Nayyar shares insights on overcoming barriers to improving population health, patient experience, revenue, and staff wellness.

• Unlocking the Potential of Radiology AI: How is AI revolutionizing radiology to enhance patient outcomes and streamline workflow? Find out in this video discussion between CARPL.ai CEO Vidur Mahajan and Mitchell Goldburgh of NTT Data USA.