The PACSman Mike Cannavo, on new November dates for the AIMed24 conference.

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MR Scanners

Better Prostate MRI Tools

In past issues of The Imaging Wire, we’ve discussed some of the challenges to prostate cancer screening that have limited its wider adoption. But researchers continue to develop new tools for prostate imaging – particularly with MRI – that could flip the script. 

Three new studies were published in just the last week focusing on prostate MRI, two involving AI image analysis.

In a new study in The Lancet Oncology, researchers presented results from AI algorithms developed for the Prostate Imaging—Cancer Artificial Intelligence (PI-CAI) Challenge.

• PI-CAI pitted teams from around the world in a competition to develop the best prostate AI algorithms, with results presented at recent RSNA and ECR conferences. 

Researchers measured the ensemble performance of top-performing PI-CAI algorithms for detecting clinically significant prostate cancer against 62 radiologists who used the PI-RADS system in a population of 400 cases, finding that AI …

• Had performance superior to radiologists (AUROC=0.91 vs. 0.86)
• Generated 50% fewer false-positive results
• Detected 20% fewer low-grade cases 

Broader use of prostate AI could reduce inter-reader variability and need for experienced radiologists to diagnose prostate cancer.

In the next study, in the Journal of Urology, researchers tested Avenda Health’s Unfold AI cancer mapping algorithm to measure the extent of tumors by analyzing their margins on MRI scans, finding that compared to physicians, AI … 

• Had higher accuracy for defining tumor margins compared to two manual methods (85% vs. 67% and 76%)
• Reduced underestimations of cancer extent with a significantly higher negative margin rate (73% vs. 1.6%)

AI wasn’t used in the final study, but this one could be the most important of the three due to its potential economic impact on prostate MRI.

• Canadian researchers in Radiology tested a biparametric prostate MRI protocol that avoids the use of gadolinium contrast against multiparametric contrast-based MRI for guiding prostate biopsy. 

They compared the protocols in 1.5k patients with prostate lesions undergoing biopsy, finding…

• No statistically significant difference in PPV between bpMRI and mpMRI for all prostate cancer (55% vs. 56%, p=0.61) 
• No difference for clinically significant prostate cancer (34% vs. 34%, p=0.97). 

They concluded that bpMRI offers lower costs and could improve access to prostate MRI by making the scans easier to perform.

The Takeaway

The advances in AI and MRI protocols shown in the new studies could easily be applied to prostate cancer screening, making it more economical, accessible, and clinically effective.  

Meet DeepHealth This Month

DeepHealth is coming to a conference near you! From SIRM in Milan to SIIM in Maryland, schedule a meeting to learn more about their innovative AI-powered health informatics portfolio and explore how they can tailor their offerings to meet your healthcare needs.

Missed Appointments and No-Show Costs Can Add Up

Every missed appointment can cost providers an average of $200. Find out how providers are reducing no-show rates by up to 30% with Appointment Reminders by PocketHealth.

The Wire

• Tempus Completes $412M IPO: Tempus AI completed its IPO on June 14 under the ticker “TEM” on the Nasdaq exchange, going public at $37 a share and jumping 15% within the first few hours before closing at $40.25, up 9%. The company issued 11.1M shares of common stock, meaning the IPO generated gross proceeds of $412M, far higher than initial estimates of $100M. The IPO’s success suggests that there is still investor appetite for healthcare AI firms, in spite of a recent slowdown in VC funding. 

• AI Show Finds New Date: AIMed24 is back. After postponing the 2024 edition of the show scheduled for May in Orlando, the meeting’s organizers announced new dates, November 17-19, at the Caribe Royale Orlando resort in Florida. The new dates will at least avoid central Florida’s oppressive summer heat (although they may be a bit close to RSNA 2024 for members of the radiology community). The 2023 edition of the conference drew some 1.5k attendees to San Diego.

• AI Deals in Healthcare Outpace Tech: VC funding for AI developers may be down in radiology, but a new report from Silicon Valley Bank finds that over the past five years the number of AI deals in healthcare grew 2.5X faster than tech overall. In all, $1.5B has been invested in patient diagnostics in the past year, with companies focused on imaging AI seeing the greatest investment growth since 2021. VCs invested $7.2B in the overall healthcare AI market in 2023 and are on track to hit $11.1B in 2024.

• Dedicated Dental MRI: Now here’s a first – Siemens Healthineers is introducing an MRI scanner dedicated to dental imaging. The company’s Magnetom Free.Max Dental Edition is a 0.55T scanner being developed through a joint venture between Siemens and Dentsply Sirona that’s optimized for soft-tissue imaging with a dedicated dental receiver coil. Like the radiology version of Free.Max, the scanner has an 80cm bore, small footprint, and virtually helium-free operation. Siemens notes that the scanner is under development and is not yet commercially available. 

• FDA Guidelines on AI Transparency: The FDA has issued new guidelines on ensuring transparency for companies developing machine learning-enabled medical devices. The agency has been working with Health Canada and UK regulatory authorities on a coordinated approach to medical AI regulation, and transparency – or the ability to understand how and why AI algorithms make their decisions – has been a major point of concern. While the guidelines are a bit vague, they should give AI developers some insight into the FDA’s approach to regulation. 

• FDA Launches AI Evaluation Projects: In other FDA news, the agency announced it would investigate regulatory evaluation paths for AI software that automate some medical practices, such as triaging and ruling out medical images from radiologist review or using large language models to generate radiology reports. Hardian Health’s Hugh Harvey, MD, speculates the FDA announcement could indicate that a radiology report generator could become the first LLM-based medical product to get regulatory authorization. 

• Total-Body PET for Lung Function: UC Davis researchers used United Imaging’s uEXPLORER total-body PET/CT scanner to perform high-temporal-resolution imaging of lung tumor blood supply in a new paper in JNM. Thanks to the scanner’s long axial field of view, researchers were able to simultaneously assess dual-blood input function (DBIF), when organs are supplied with blood from both the right and left ventricles. In 13 healthy volunteers and six patients with lung cancer, total-body PET of DBIF was better at showing blood kinetics in tumors than measuring blood function separately.

• Positron Acquires PET/CT Rights: Positron has cleared the way to market a PET/CT scanner in the US by acquiring the 510(k) for the NeuSight PET/CT scanner from a subsidiary of Neusoft Medical Systems. Positron and Neusoft have been collaborating since 2022 as part of Positron’s goal of expanding from its core cardiac PET market into PET/CT, and the new deal enables the company to start selling the NeuSight system immediately. Positron also plans to submit a 510(k) for its Affinity PET/CT scanner.   

• Canadian Task Force on Dense Breasts: After receiving blowback to its refusal to lower the starting age for breast screening or recommend supplemental imaging for women with dense breasts, the Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health Care is calling for more studies on the “benefits and harms” of dense breast screening. That stance itself is generating criticism as being overly conservative; the USPSTF also declined to recommend supplemental imaging with MRI or ultrasound in its recent guideline update.  

• Glassbeam Expands Software: Medical device analytics software developer Glassbeam has expanded its flagship Clinsights Service Analytic software to enable it to support a wider range of imaging systems. Users can now monitor the performance of a greater number of systems and broader range of modalities, and also receive alerts about possible device breakdowns. Glassbeam also said it is working with PartsSource to enable users to monitor equipment status within that company’s Asset Command Center. 

• New PACS Firm Lands Installs: Hot off emerging from stealth mode earlier this year, cloud-based PACS software developer Synthesis Health has landed three new installations. The new clients include Tahoe Carson Radiology in Nevada, Naugatuck Valley Radiology in Connecticut, and Intermountain Medical Imaging in Idaho; combined, the sites perform 700k studies annually. Synthesis was co-founded by Murray Reicher, MD, founder and CEO of PACS pioneer DR Systems.

Experience the Platform for the Future

Register now for a priority demo at SIIM 2024 of Visage 7, Visage Imaging’s trailblazing platform for the future of enterprise imaging, based on industry standards and multi-cloud support.

An Easier Way to Manage Training and CME

Medality’s new Admin Portal offers radiology practices a single location to manage radiologist training development needs and CME requirements. Request a demo today.

Which Imaging Vendors Are Ready for the Cloud?

Which medical imaging vendors are perceived as ready for the cloud? In a new survey from KLAS Research, AGFA HealthCare’s approach to the cloud won high marks from customers. Learn more about the report today.

The Resource Wire

• Meet Merge at SIIM 2024: Whether you’re a physician, IT administrator, or imaging business leader, meet with Merge by Merative at SIIM 2024 to find out how you can benefit from Merge imaging solutions, and sign up now for a June 28 talk on a modular approach to innovation. 

• Presenting Unboxing AI: Check out CARPL’s brand-new video series, Unboxing AI, featuring experts discussing AI and its future in radiology. The next episode on June 21 features Cyril Di Grandi of Avicenna.ai – reserve your seat today. 

• Ignite Your Imaging AI Strategy: Take your imaging AI strategy to the next level at SIIM 2024 by attending insightful sessions on AI adoption and deployment from Calantic by Bayer, including planning an AI orchestration platform and the benefits of integrating AI in radiology departments. Reserve your spot today.

• An End-to-End AV and AI Solution: Never buy separate AV and AI solutions again. Get in touch with TeraRecon to find out how your health system can benefit from all the Intuition clinical features you need, plus a growing list of exclusive subscription-only content that leverages the power of AI.

• 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. 

• An Update from Intelerad: Since joining Intelerad as CEO in 2023, Jordan Bazinsky has set the company on a course to address some of the major challenges facing radiology and healthcare today. Hear his thoughts in this episode of The Imaging Wire Show.

• AMRIC’s Multimodality Approach to Medical Imaging: AMRIC is a new premium imaging clinic on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Learn about their multimodality approach to medical imaging and why they turned to United Imaging for cutting-edge CT, MRI, and molecular imaging technology. 

• Visit Gleamer at SIIM 2024: Be sure to visit Gleamer in booth #530 at SIIM 2024 to learn more about the company’s full range of AI solutions, including BoneView for fracture assessment. Learn more about BoneView today. 

• Advances in Fully Automated Echocardiography: Echocardiography is a pillar of cardiac imaging, but it is operator-dependent and time-consuming to perform. Learn how new echo AI-based software from Us2.ai can automate image acquisition and calculate dozens of measurements that previously had to be performed manually.

• Looking to Get Started with AI? Learn how Milton Keynes University Hospital adopted a successful AI strategy in this on-demand webinar from Blackford. You’ll discover how to evaluate and select the best AI solutions for your facility, tips for getting started with AI, and more. 

• Clearer MRI for Alzheimer’s Disease: Clinicians and patients are encouraged by new drugs available to slow or reduce cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease. Learn how 30% faster MRI scans and clearer images enabled by SpinTech MRI’s STAGE software can help address imaging challenges. 

• Enhancing CSF Leak Diagnosis with Photon-Counting CT: Register today for a June 21 webinar hosted by Siemens Healthineers on enhancing CSF leak diagnosis with photon-counting CT. A panel of key opinion leaders will discuss the use of photon-counting CT in diagnosing CSF leaks, including case studies and practical applications.

• Transforming Healthcare with Advanced AI: Visit Enlitic at booth #524 at SIIM 2024 to discover how the company is transforming healthcare with its advanced AI solutions. See you there!

• Starting a CT Lung Cancer Screening Program: There’s no doubt CT lung cancer screening reduces lung cancer mortality. In this Imaging Wire Show, we discuss how to set up CT lung screening and the technologies available to help with Chip Gilkeson, MD, of University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center and Steve Worrell of Riverain Technologies.

• A Holistic Strategy For Enterprise AI: Finding, vetting, and deploying the right radiology AI solutions can be challenging. In this SIIM 2024 session on June 27 presented by Microsoft + Nuance, learn how industry leaders are laying the foundation for AI while solving today’s real-world workflow challenges.