Kenneth Mandl, MD, on how commercial forces could undermine AI-powered clinical decision support.

Coronary artery calcium (CAC) is recognized as a risk factor for future heart disease. Fortunately, new solutions are becoming available for calculating CAC scores from CT scans — and can help people avoid future cardiac events. In this Imaging Wire Show, we talked to Dr. Suzy McKinney from MGB and Jason Knapp from Riverain Technologies about these new developments.

Thanks to everyone who attended our webinar last week, Insights and Tips on Helping the Independent Imaging Practice Thrive in 2025. The webinar is now available for viewing on-demand.

Imaging Wire Sponsors

AGFA HealthCare  •  Blackford  •  Calantic by Bayer  •  CARPL.ai  •  Clearpath  •  DeepHealth  •  Enlitic  •  Gleamer  •  Intelerad  •  Kailo Medical  •  Mach7 Technologies  •  Medality  •  Merge by Merative  •  Microsoft  •  Optum  •  Philips  •  PocketHealth  •  Prenuvo  •  Riverain Technologies  •  Siemens Healthineers  •  SpinTech MRI  •  United Imaging  •  Us2.ai  •  Visage Imaging  •  

Lung Cancer Screening

Are CT Lung Screening Patients Sicker?

Amid the rush of enthusiasm for CT lung cancer screening, a new study published in JAMA Health Forum offers a cautionary note. Researchers found that in the real world, people eligible for lung screening were sicker than those in research studies, and thus may not enjoy screening’s benefits to the same extent. 

Support for CT lung cancer screening is based on randomized controlled trials published in 2011 (NLST) and NELSON (2020) that showed screening reduced lung cancer mortality among high-risk individuals who typically had long smoking histories. 

• The studies have spurred momentum for large-scale CT lung cancer screening programs, with a number of European and Asian countries starting national initiatives. 

But how generalizable are these results? Researchers noted that people who participated in the NLST study tended to be younger and healthier than individuals who qualify for screening in the real world. 

• Co-morbidities like COPD, diabetes, and heart disease, as well as age and racial background, can have an impact on survival after treatment for lung cancer, and thus could reduce screening’s risk/benefit calculation. 

In the new Personalized Lung Cancer Screening study, researchers analyzed the comorbidity profiles of 31.8k people who got screened between 2016 and 2021 in California, Florida, and South Carolina. 

• They noted that their PLuS study cohort was more diverse in terms of age, race, and ethnicity than that used in NLST, and potentially had more comorbid conditions. 

In analyzing their population, PLuS researchers found that compared to NLST participants, people screened in their real-world programs had …

• Higher rates of COPD (33% vs. 18%).
• Higher rates of diabetes (25% vs. 9.7%).
• Higher rates of heart disease (16% vs. 13%).
• Were more likely to be aged 70 and over (25% vs. 8.8%).
• Had high scores on various metrics of comorbidity and frailty. 

Older, sicker patients are less likely to have good health outcomes after lung cancer surgery, and might also succumb to conditions like COPD, diabetes, and heart disease before lung cancer, which could also reduce lung screening’s benefits.

The Takeaway

While the new findings aren’t likely to seriously dampen CT lung cancer screening’s growing momentum, they do illustrate a point that should always be kept in mind when looking at research results: in the real world, your mileage may vary. 

Get Your Head Around AI for Neuroradiology

Check out the latest blog from Blackford on how advances in deep learning algorithms for neurology imaging are improving outcomes and easing the burden on radiologists.

Experience Visage at HIMSS 2025

See for yourself what the buzz in CloudPACS is all about by scheduling a priority demo with Visage Imaging at HIMSS 2025 today, or drop by their booth #661 to learn more about Visage 7.

Engage Patients with Image Access and Insights

Learn how to improve patient engagement with seamless image exchange, image-enable your portal, and improve follow-up compliance. Book a demo with PocketHealth at HIMSS.

The Wire

• Body Composition Predicts Mortality: In related CT lung screening news, a new study in Radiology shows how low-dose CT scans can be leveraged to produce data on body composition that predicts mortality. In 20.7k patients drawn from the NLST trial, researchers used CT data to calculate epicardial adipose tissue and track it over time. Individuals with atypical declines in EAT volume had 34% higher risk of all-cause mortality while atypical increases had a 15% higher risk. Similar correlations were found for cardiovascular and lung cancer mortality.

• China Woes Depress Vendor Earnings: Vendor earnings season is drawing to a close, and ongoing economic issues in China continue to affect multiple companies. Revenues were reported for GE HealthCare Imaging and Advanced Visualization Solutions divisions (+1.4% to $3.83B), Siemens Healthineers Imaging division (+7.6% to $3.16B), Philips Diagnosis and Treatment division (-1% to $2.54B), Fujifilm healthcare division (-2.5% to $1.59B), Canon Medical Systems (-1.8% to $1.07B), Hologic Breast Health division (-2.1% to $369M), Guerbet (+5.9% to $231M), Varex medical division (+3% to $145M), and Konica Minolta healthcare division (+1% to $136M).

• Canon Records $1B Asset Impairment Charge: Japanese industrial conglomerate Canon recorded a massive $1B goodwill impairment charge in its most recent financial results to write down the value of its 2016 acquisition of Toshiba Medical Systems. Canon said that changing business conditions – including the downsizing of business due to geopolitical risk, China’s economic downturn, and deteriorating business conditions at Japanese hospitals – prompted the company to revise its sales projections for Canon Medical Systems downward, causing the business’ value to fall below its book value and necessitating the charge.

• SPECT/CT Two-for-One CAC Scoring: A new paper in JACC: Advances highlights a novel technique to use the CT component of SPECT/CT myocardial perfusion imaging scans to generate coronary artery calcium scores. In a study of 12.3k patients, researchers found SPECT/CT-generated CAC scores were highly predictive of MACE, with rates highest in CAC patients independent of ischemic ECG changes (range of 9.6% to 7%) and lowest in those without CAC (range to 0.5% to 1.9%). The findings support adding CAC scores to MPI scans.

• Enlitic Launches New Module at ViVE: Enlitic launched a new module called ENABLE at last week’s ViVE 2025 conference that includes search and cohort development modules. The company also highlighted Ensight 2.0, the newest version of its solution for generating standardized study and series descriptions from medical images, which first debuted in 2024. 

• Physicians Flee Post-PE: A new study in JAMA Health Forum documents what looks like an exodus of physicians from practices acquired and then sold by private equity investors. In a survey of 1.2k physicians, doctors working at practices that PE investors had sold were 17 percentage points less likely to be working there two years after PE’s exit. What’s more, departing physicians were more likely to join large practices, accelerating market concentration. A recent study found that PE acquisitions of radiology practices edged up in 2024. 

• Ezra Gets New FDA Clearance: Whole-body MRI screening firm Ezra received FDA clearance for enhancements to its Ezra Flash AI technology for AI-based MR image enhancement. The new authorization builds on a 510(k) clearance Ezra got in 2023 to use Flash for brain imaging, and enables the technology to be marketed for the abdomen and pelvis as well. Ezra also said the clearance moves the firm toward its goal of offering a 15-minute full-body scan in 2026. 

• Ultrasound Screening for Dense Breasts: New research out of Canada supports using breast ultrasound to screen women with dense breast tissue if breast MRI or contrast mammography isn’t available. In a study of 5.3k women with dense breasts and normal 2D screening mammograms, supplemental ultrasound had an incremental cancer detection rate of 6.1 cancers per 1k women. In all, 84% of cancers were found in women with heterogeneously dense tissue and 63% had no family or personal history of cancer. 

• Bunkerhill Debuts Automated Follow-Up: Bunkerhill Health launched Careblocks, a new AI-powered platform for automating patient follow-ups. Careblocks is based on vision and large language models and analyzes medical images to identify findings that might require follow-up. It then communicates with EHRs to select the patients who need immediate follow-up based on medical history, ongoing treatments, and existing specialist visits while reducing unnecessary alerts. 

• Oxipit Nabs Unilabs for AI Rollout: Autonomous AI developer Oxipit signed an agreement with imaging services provider Unilabs to deploy its chest X-ray algorithms across Unilabs’ European network. Oxipit’s ChestLink and ChestEye solutions will be integrated into Unilabs’ workflows to provide automated triage and second-reading capabilities. Unilabs is active in 14 markets, with the Oxipit rollout beginning in Portugal. 

• Cercare Raises $8M for Stroke AI: Cercare Medical raised $7.8M to expand global distribution of its AI software for stroke and neurodegenerative diseases. Cercare offers algorithms that provide brain perfusion maps based on both CT and MRI scans for assessing neurological tissue pathologies. The company said the funds would be used to expand into key markets, especially the U.S., U.K., and selected European countries. 

• Ping An Integrates DeepSeek AI: Chinese AI developer Ping An Health has integrated DeepSeek’s open-source large language model into several of its medical-specific AI applications. While the first releases don’t appear to include radiology, the new offerings could be the first healthcare applications built on DeepSeek, which in January sent a shudder through U.S. AI developers by releasing an LLM chatbot built with far fewer resources than those being used by larger companies.

Learn to Unlock Your Data at HIMSS 2025

Meet with Enlitic at HIMSS 2025 booth #1965 and learn how to unlock the power of your medical imaging data with their solutions, including ENDEX for data standardization, ENCOG for anonymization, and Migratek for anonymization.

Tools for Lung Cancer Screening in Europe

As lung cancer screening programs gear up to launch across various European countries, the integration of AI nodule detection tools promises to enhance the accuracy of low-dose CT scans. Watch this video from Riverain Technologies to learn more.

Experience the Power of Workflow Orchestration

Mach7’s UnityVue Workflow Orchestration Platform is a groundbreaking new solution that creates a unified view of patient imaging data, speeding patient care delivery, creating more efficient workflows, and reducing radiologist stress. Experience the power of UnityVue for yourself.

The Resource Wire

• Powering Reporting Progress with Efficiency: Radiologists are looking to maximize their efficiency with new reporting tools that integrate easily with their PACS and RIS. Learn more about solutions from Kailo Medical in this Imaging Wire Show interview with Jason Mercieca and Dieter Smith.  

• Unprecedented Insights Made Possible with AI: With the largest normative dataset of whole-body imaging in the world, Prenuvo’s AI researchers partner with the best academic minds to understand – like never before – what “normal” aging means. Learn about their work today.

• Best in KLAS for 2025: Merge Cardio and Merge Hemo from Merge by Merative have been ranked Best in KLAS for Cardiology and Hemodynamics, marking the 10th and 13th time respectively for these industry-leading solutions. Read this report to see how they compared to the competition. 

• Visit AGFA at HIMSS 2025: AGFA HealthCare will be showcasing its latest innovations in cloud-based enterprise imaging at the upcoming HIMSS 2025 conference in Las Vegas. Schedule a visit to AGFA’s booth #5027 to see how the company is reshaping and simplifying medical image management.

• The Leader in Molecular Imaging: United Imaging’s uMI portfolio of solutions is designed to help you lead the way in molecular imaging. From digital PET/CT systems designed to stand the test of time to the cutting-edge uEXPLORER total-body PET scanner, discover the uMI difference today. 

• Say Goodbye to On-Premises Costs: Free up resources with Optum’s cloud solutions for medical imaging that will help you say goodbye to on-premises costs. Visit this page to see how they can help you save!

• Meet with CARPL at ECR 2025: CARPL.ai is at the forefront of transforming AI-driven healthcare with the world’s largest marketplace featuring 150+ AI applications. Book a meeting with them today at ECR 2025 or visit them at booth #AI-26.

• A New Benchmark for Tomo Imaging: There’s a new benchmark for digital breast tomosynthesis 3D images with MAMMOMAT B.brilliant from Siemens Healthineers. The system’s 50° wide-angle tomosynthesis helps you achieve excellent outcomes for your patients, radiologists, and breast care professionals. 

• Stop Shipping Discs! By pivoting to a 100% digital fulfillment model for patient images and records, you can improve their experience while significantly reducing labor and shipping costs. Find out how on this page from Clearpath. 

• Visit DeepHealth at ECR 2025: Visit DeepHealth at booth #507 at ECR 2025 to learn more about their AI-powered radiology informatics and population screening solutions that are transforming healthcare. Book a demo today.

• Heart Failure Screening at Home and in Primary Care: Heart failure is the number one cause of hospitalization in people over 65. The SYMPHONY study is investigating a screening strategy of point-of-care AI echo and NT-proBNP in primary practice and general community settings. Learn more on this page from Us2.ai. 

• Empower Your Healthcare Workforce at HIMSS 2025: Visit Microsoft at HIMSS 2025 to learn how to empower your healthcare workforce, unlock value from clinical and operational data, and accelerate discovery and development. Schedule a demo today or visit booth #2221. 

• Ignite Your AI Strategy at ECR 2025: Learn how to ignite your AI strategy at ECR 2025 with Calantic by Bayer’s AI platform for radiology. Book a demo today at booth #AI-03 and be sure to attend one of the company’s presentations in Vienna. 

• Transform Your Practice into a Multispecialty Powerhouse: Medality is the practice development platform that helps radiologists upskill in high-growth, advanced imaging areas. Request a demo today and discover how to transform your practice into a multispecialty powerhouse. 

• MRI Access and the Cost of Inpatient Stays: Longer inpatient stays due to delayed MRI access are a long-standing and costly issue for hospital systems. Find out how STAGE from SpinTech MRI can reduce your MRI backlog and inpatient stays by shortening brain scan times by 30%.

• Answers in Sight at HIMSS 2025: Join Intelerad at HIMSS 2025 to explore how they are redefining healthcare imaging with innovative solutions designed to provide a clear path to answers. Book a meeting today or drop by at booth #1048. 

• Meet Gleamer at ECR 2025 in Vienna: Visit Gleamer at ECR 2025 in Vienna and learn about the scientific evidence behind the performance and excellence of their AI solutions for musculoskeletal and chest imaging. Book a meeting today or visit them at booth #AI-17. 

• Feel the Freedom of Helium-Free MRI: Lift limitations and experience MRI excellence with Philips BlueSeal, the industry’s lightest, vent pipe-free, high-performance, helium-free 1.5T scanner. Save on helium and energy costs, achieve precise AI-enhanced diagnoses, enjoy faster scans, and optimized workflows. Learn more today.

The Industry Wire

1. UCLA predicts U.S. hospital occupancy to reach 85% in 7 years.
2. UnitedHealthcare looks to cut ~30k jobs.
3. Ed DeVaney named President of CVS Caremark.
4. Sutter Health invests $1B in regional expansion.
5. BCBS Michigan to charge hospitals for repeated claims denial appeals.
6. 800 Geisinger nurses strike: 5 things to know.
7. Cedars-Sinai cancer director stepping down.
8. Epic plans large campus expansion.
9. Emory Healthcare hires Mayo Clinic marketing leader.
10. NYC Health + Hospitals releases new documentary.