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Combo CT Screening Detects More Disease | US vs. MRI
September 16, 2024
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“I think this is the future … if we fast-forward 5-10 years … every hospital will have a theranostics treatment facility. It will be a standard part of a cancer care center.”
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Michael Hofman, MBBS, on new tools for personalized theranostics.
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Theranostics combines both imaging and therapy into a powerful tool for treating many diseases. In this Imaging Wire Show, we talked to three key opinion leaders in the field — Ravi Patel, MD; Louise Emmett, MD, and Michael Hofman, MBBS — about theranostics’ value and new technologies that are making it easier to perform.
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A CT lung cancer screening program that also offered abdominal non-contrast CT scans detected a large number of abnormalities outside the lung in a population of people with smoking histories. The combined approach could offer a more efficient way to detect multiple pathologies in a single patient visit.
CT lung cancer screening is gaining momentum globally, but clinicians and researchers continue to look for ways to make it more valuable.
- That’s a good thing, because smoking is a risk factor not just for lung cancer, but also other pathologies like abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) – so why not screen for those at the same time?
In a paper in European Urology, U.K. researchers describe their Yorkshire Kidney Screening Trial (YKST), which sought to detect kidney cancer by piggybacking on the county’s existing CT lung cancer screening program.
- Abdominal non-contrast CT exams were offered at the same time as thoracic CT lung screening scans to high-risk people who met the lung program’s screening criteria, namely aged 50-85 and more than 30 pack-years of smoking history.
In all, 4k people accepted the offer to get additional abdominal CT scans, which had the following findings …
- 64% of patients had normal findings, while another 20% had images that required additional review but no further action.
- 5.3% had a new serious finding.
- Serious findings were broken down as follows: renal stones ≥ 5 mm (3%), AAA (1.5%), renal mass/complex cysts (0.62%), kidney cancers (0.25%), and other cancers (0.25%).
- It took 13 minutes of additional time to perform the abdominal CT scan.
Researchers said the prevalence of additional disease in YKST was within the range of other U.K. screening programs, such as for colorectal cancer (0.16-0.61%) and breast cancer (0.92%).
- The high prevalence of AAA was “unexpected,” especially since many AAA cases were found in people who aren’t covered by existing AAA screening programs.
The Takeaway
As with recent research combining CT lung screening with coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring, the new study shows that lung screening offers an opportunity to screen for more than just lung cancer. By detecting additional disease, combo screening has the potential to flip the script when it comes to screening’s cost-benefit ratio.
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A Step-by-Step Approach to Radiology AI Adoption
Widespread adoption of radiology AI has the potential to revolutionize patient care, but the path to success requires a systematic approach. Blackford offers a step-by-step guide for healthcare providers looking to get started.
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In Their Own Words
What are radiology professionals saying about the Visage 7 enterprise imaging platform? Visage Imaging has curated a select group of video interviews with Visage 7 users so you can hear what they think in their own words.
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- US vs. MRI for Endometriosis: Which modality is better – ultrasound or MRI – for detecting and managing pelvic endometriosis? It depends. That’s according to a new literature review in AJR that analyzed 33 studies, finding that ultrasound was better for some elements of bowel-wall disease, while MRI better visualized pelvic wall and extraperitoneal disease. But for both modalities, dedicated scanning protocols are better than routine scans. In the end, whether to use either modality should be based on the local practice’s strengths.
- QTI’s Ups and Downs: It’s been an up-and-down past few months for acoustic breast CT developer QT Imaging. On the upside, the company has converted its nonexclusive distribution relationship with Canon Medical’s NXC Imaging subsidiary to an exclusive deal, and NXC made four QTI system sales for the first six months of 2024 (QTI sold another three systems on its own). On the downside, QTI earlier this month received a Nasdaq delisting notice for violating the exchange’s $15M market-value requirement. QTI has until March 2025 to return to compliance.
- AI Spots Patient ID Errors: A deep learning model that analyzed chest X-rays worked as well as radiologists for identifying patient misidentification errors. In a study in Journal of Imaging Informatics in Medicine, researchers used their SimChest algorithm to analyze pairs of chest X-rays from 240 patients and identify the ones that didn’t match; the mean accuracy of SimChest was non-inferior to radiologists (0.904 vs. 0.90). The findings show SimChest could be used to automatically screen for patient ID errors.
- Chest X-Ray AI Predicts the Future: In another novel application of chest X-ray AI, researchers from South Korea and AI developer TALOS describe an AI algorithm called EHRXDiff that can generate what a patient’s chest X-rays might look like in the future. In a paper posted to ArXiv, they describe how EHRXDiff takes temporal changes such as medication and treatment and adds them to past radiographs to create “new” chest X-rays that could show a patient’s progression. TALOS also developed the ANRISK algorithm for predicting cerebral aneurysm.
- DeepHealth Taps Wesdorp as CEO: RadNet’s DeepHealth AI subsidiary has hired imaging veteran Kees Wesdorp as president and CEO. Wesdorp previously was head of Philips’ Precision Diagnosis division, where he oversaw the company’s CT, MR, digital X-ray, and imaging informatics software operations. RadNet launched DeepHealth in late 2023 to encompass the portfolio of AI solutions the company put together through acquisitions of developers like Quantib and Aidence.
- Echo AI Misses CAD, Helps Some Users: The PROTEUS study showed that some echo AI solutions might have limited benefits for helping clinicians assess stress echocardiograms and diagnose CAD. In the study of 2.3k patients in 20 U.K. hospitals, clinicians using Ultromics’ EchoGo Pro referred patients for coronary angiography less accurately than clinicians following standard of care (69% vs. 75% were appropriate referrals). However, there were signs that AI decision support could help providers with less echo experience and/or with more complex cases.
- Sirona Lands Texas Practice: Chalk up a big win for Sirona Medical as the company landed a contract to provide its radiology operating system platform to Radiology Associates of North Texas (RANT). Sirona’s platform combines diagnostic viewing, reporting, PACS, and worklist in a cloud-native SaaS package that will enable RANT to maintain patient services in the event of downtime with their PACS or dictation systems. RANT is one of the largest private radiology groups in the U.S., with over 280 radiologists reading over 5M studies annually.
- Cerebriu Raises $19.2M: Danish AI software developer Cerebriu has completed a $19.2M Series A funding round, bringing its total funding to over $22M (not including research grants). The company will use the funding to further commercialize its Apollo software for triaging and optimizing brain MRI protocols, develop new sales channels, and leverage its existing relationship with Siemens Healthineers. Apollo already has the CE Mark, and Cerebriu is moving it toward FDA authorization. The company is positioning the software as a “clinical companion” for MRI technologists.
- Riverain Lands New NC Site: Riverain Technologies will provide its ClearRead CT software to ARA Health Specialists, a radiology practice in Asheville, North Carolina. ClearRead CT eliminates structures that can obscure chest CT exams, enabling clinicians to better visualize lung nodules. As with another recent installation in California, ClearRead CT will be provided over Ferrum Health’s AI platform.
- New Radiation Protection Gear: Burlington Medical has launched a new radiation protection garment called BAT that’s designed to provide additional protection for the breast, axilla, and thyroid. BAT can be worn over a standard radiation protection apron and includes a chest piece and collar; it was developed by breast surgical oncologist Lauren Ramsey, MD, who believes that occupational radiation exposure played a role in the breast cancer death of a friend and colleague.
- SpectraWAVE Series B: Intravascular imaging innovator SpectraWAVE landed $50M in Series B funding from Johnson & Johnson and a lineup of major VCs to advance its HyperVue Imaging System’s commercial expansion and support future product additions. The HyperVue system combines SpectraWAVE’s DeepOCT and NIRS spectroscopy technology within a no-flush catheter, supporting both image acquisition and AI-based image review to help physicians optimize coronary stent placement in the cath lab.
- DASI’s Structural Heart Clearance: DASI Simulations announced the FDA clearance of DASI Dimensions, its AI-powered solution that identifies and measures cardiac structures in CT scans to support structural heart procedure planning. DASI is quickly building out an impressive structural heart planning portfolio, as its PrecisionTAVI solution for TAVR pre-planning already has FDA clearance and an outpatient reimbursement code, and there are no other AI players in this segment.
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Fill the Gaps of Legacy Solutions and Solve Healthcare Challenges
69% of imaging leaders cited the costs and time of burning CDs as a major concern. Get more insights from a recent survey of imaging leaders and learn how healthcare providers are overcoming common challenges in this article from PocketHealth.
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The Clinical Value of Soft-Tissue Chest X-Ray
Soft-tissue techniques can improve the visibility and accuracy of chest X-ray. Learn about two important soft-tissue methods – bone suppression and dual-energy subtraction – in this white paper from Riverain Technologies.
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- Discover AI Apps Curated by Body Regions: Discover how Calantic Digital Solutions by Bayer supports you in tackling radiology challenges through multiple stages of the patient’s journey by offering AI solutions curated for specific body regions. Learn more about Calantic today.
- Treating Local Patients Like Family: Holzer Health System in the rural community of Jackson, Ohio, treats local patients like family, offering the same level of top-quality care that can be found anywhere. Find out how United Imaging’s Software Upgrades for Life program helps them stay current.
- An Integrated Approach to Radiology AI: AI automates what radiologists can’t stand, surfaces what radiologists can’t see, and identifies what radiologists can’t miss. But only if it’s implemented in the way radiologists work. See how Nuance helps radiologists achieve these results through a single, streamlined, end-to-end AI experience.
- Set a New Standard of Care: Give your patients clarity and peace of mind with Prenuvo’s advanced whole-body MRI scans. Prenuvo’s team works closely with you to help pinpoint potential problems, diagnose faster, and deepen your patient relationships. Learn more today.
- Seamless Integration and Efficient Reading: TeraRecon’s latest Intuition advanced visualization solution now features seamless integration with Mirada Medical’s Mirada XD, providing efficient diagnostic reading with automatic multi-modality and multi-time point registration capabilities. Schedule a demo to learn more.
- A Cloud-Native Foundation for Your Imaging Needs: Merge by Merative’s Merge Imaging Suite is built on a cloud-native foundation to address your imaging needs today, providing an intuitive, feature-rich array of solutions thoughtfully designed to help you enjoy a seamless and frictionless workflow experience. Learn more about it today.
- Presenting Unboxing AI: Check out CARPL’s video series, Unboxing AI, featuring experts discussing AI and its future in radiology. The next episode on September 20 features Dr Jean-Joseph Christophe of CASIS – reserve your seat today.
- Unlock Medical Imaging’s Full Potential: Unlock the full potential of medical imaging with the power of cloud technology and discover how Optum’s solutions can streamline operations, enhance data security, and improve patient outcomes. Embrace the future of medical imaging today and see the difference the cloud can make!
- Imaging Workflows that Actually Work: Not a fan of medical image exchange on discs? Then check out Clearpath and find out how it’s removing obstacles to better radiology workflow. Request a demo today.
- What is Cloud Computing? What do you know about cloud computing and its role in healthcare? Check out this article by Sham Sokka, PhD, of DeepHealth to learn how cloud computing is helping hospitals adopt new AI technologies that enhance patient care.
- Faster MRI Scans with No Compromise: What if you could speed up your MRI scans with no compromise on image quality? In this video, hear from SpinTech MRI how their STAGE software is making this vision a reality.
- Automated MSK Measurements: BoneMetrics from Gleamer is an automated AI solution that can help diagnose scoliosis by automating Cobb angle calculations on images acquired with X-ray and EOS systems. Learn more about how it works today.
- The Future of Interventional Radiology: The evolving landscape of interventional radiology is the focus of this episode of The Radiology Report podcast, featuring a discussion between interventional radiologist Jason Levy, MD, and Medality Co-Founder and CEO Daniel Arnold. Give it a listen today.
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