|
VC AI Funding Plummets | New Prostate MRI Tools
March 24, 2025
|
|
|
|
|
Together with
|
|
|
|
“Economic instability, shifting investor sentiment, and unpredictable healthcare policy changes create a risk-averse funding environment. Looking forward, the FDA’s recent job cuts and then rehiring in the U.S. could signal shifts in regulatory priorities, adding further uncertainty to healthcare investments.”
|
|
Signify Research, in its new report on VC radiology AI funding.
|
|
|
AI is having a major impact on echocardiography workflows, enabling healthcare personnel to scan more efficiently and with less physical stress. In this episode of The Imaging Wire Show, we talk to Wojciech Mazur, MD, of The Christ Hospital and Dave Ladd of Us2.ai about AI echo’s clinical value.
|
|
|
|
If you thought venture capital funding of AI firms was lower last year, you weren’t wrong. A new report from market analysis firm Signify Research found that VC funding of radiology AI firms dropped by nearly half in 2024 compared to the year before.
VC funding has become a closely watched barometer of the radiology AI segment’s overall health.
- As most AI developers haven’t generated significant cash flows from product revenues yet, VC money is the oxygen that keeps AI firms breathing.
And there are signs that after peaking in 2021, that oxygen is coming into short supply.
- Signify’s report last year documented a 19% drop in VC AI funding in 2023, a development attributed to tighter access to capital due to high interest rates.
Those trends continued into 2024, with the new Signify report finding …
- Total VC funding was $335.5M, down 48% compared to $645.6M in 2023.
- The number of funding rounds fell 35% (20 vs. 31), to the lowest level since 2015.
- Average deal size fell 16% ($16.8M vs. $20.1M).
- Cleerly raised the most in 2024 with $106M in funding, followed by Qure.ai with $65M (putting Qure into Signify’s elite “$100M Club”).
- Funding declines were even worse in the Asia-Pacific (-84%) and the Europe, Middle East, and Africa regions (-76%) compared to the peak in 2021.
Signify analyst Umar Ahmed noted that 2025 got off to a strong start, with $100M in funding rounds announced in January.
- This could either represent a rebound in investor confidence, or indicate that the AI funding cycle is getting longer as VC firms put developers under the microscope and demand better ROI for their investments.
The Takeaway
So it’s agreed that 2024 was a wash for VC radiology AI funding – what about 2025? The year’s strong start appears to have petered out as we approach the spring quarter, and ongoing regulatory turbulence and economic uncertainty in the U.S. isn’t likely to help. Stay tuned.
|
|
|
Opportunistic Detection of CAC and Pulmonary Nodules
Achieve a newfound certainty of search for thoracic CT when using ClearRead CT from Riverain Technologies. It’s a natural addition for opportunistic CAC scoring and nodule detection, or as part of a CT lung cancer screening program.
|
|
Time to Address Radiologist Burnout and Inefficient Workflows
Mach7’s new UnityVue radiology solution is a comprehensive reading platform combining enterprise imaging, workflow orchestration, AI-driven decision support, and the tools your team needs to thrive. See for yourself on March 26 in a live product demonstration by the Mach7 team.
|
|
AI and Neuroradiology Workflow
How can AI add value to workflows in neuroradiology? Watch this on-demand video to learn from Blackford partners how AI can help, from assisting providers in managing acute stroke patients to the impact of CPT III codes in driving adoption of brain volumetric AI solutions.
|
|
- Quibim Prostate AI Lands FDA Clearance: The U.S. gained a major new AI algorithm for prostate imaging after Quibim’s QP-Prostate CAD was cleared by the FDA. The new version of Quibim’s QP-Prostate technology analyzes MRI scans to identify cancer and help clinicians minimize unnecessary biopsies. Quibim’s previous version of QP-Prostate performed prostate gland segmentation and quantification, but the new clearance is broader and covers cancer detection and diagnosis. Quibim earlier this year raised $50M in a Series A round.
- Skipping Prostate Screening Can Be Fatal: Prostate cancer screening with PSA tests is controversial due to its lower accuracy and high false-positive rate. But a new study out of Europe found that men who skipped PSA testing were more likely to die of prostate cancer than those who didn’t. Out of 72.5k men followed for 20 years, those who got screened had a 23% lower risk of dying from prostate cancer, while those who didn’t attend had a 39% higher mortality risk.
- FDA Clears Siemens Prostate MR Software: Another new tool for prostate MRI is becoming available after the FDA cleared Siemens Healthineers’ Prostate MR AI algorithm. Prostate MR is designed to support reading and reporting of prostate MRI exams and support biopsy decisions by automatically segmenting the prostate and estimating prostate volume. Prostate MR was shown to help radiologists diagnose clinically significant prostate cancer in a recent study in Radiology.
- Micro-ultrasound vs. MRI for Prostate Biopsy: Exact Imaging’s 29MHz high-resolution ExactVu micro-ultrasound scanner could be an alternative to MRI for guiding prostate biopsy. In the OPTIMUM study in JAMA, researchers compared the technologies in 678 men, finding that micro-ultrasound-guided biopsy detected a higher rate of clinically significant prostate cancer compared to biopsy guided by MRI with conventional ultrasound (47% vs. 43%). Micro-ultrasound could be more accessible for patients without MRI’s drawbacks like gadolinium contrast and the need to conduct two procedures.
- FDA Approves Prostate PSMA-PET Tracer: It may not be MRI, but another new tool becoming available for prostate imaging is Gozellix, a PET radiotracer from Telix Pharmaceuticals that received FDA approval. Gozellix is a gallium-68-labeled agent that binds to PSMA expression and is indicated for men with prostate cancer who have suspected metastasis or with suspected cancer recurrence due to elevated PSA levels. Telix is touting the agent’s six-hour shelf life, which gives it an extended distribution radius.
- Radiology Does Well in Match 2025: Radiology did well in the 2025 Main Residency Match that ended on Friday, with U.S. diagnostic radiology residency programs filling 98.4% of their positions, with only 20 positions going unfilled in the Match. In all, 1,216 applicants matched into diagnostic radiology residency positions, including 808 US MD students. Integrated interventional radiology programs had 97.2% fill rate and radiation oncology 96.0%. High fill rates for specialties are seen as a sign of medical student interest.
- AI of BAC Predicts Cardiac Events, Mortality: In research at next week’s ACC 2025 meeting, a homegrown AI algorithm calculated breast arterial calcification on screening mammograms. In a study of 56.6k women, women younger than 80 with the highest BAC levels (>40 mm2) had worse five-year rates of event-free survival compared to those with the lowest BAC levels (>10 mm2) for acute myocardial infarction (91% vs. 97%), stroke (84% vs. 93%), heart failure (85% vs. 96%) and death (86% vs. 95%).
- USPSTF Reduces Lung Screening Disparities: The USPSTF’s 2021 revision of CT lung cancer screening criteria tripled the screening rate. In a research letter in JAMA Oncology, researchers looked at screening rates for 17.1k people before and after the change, finding that the rate of up-to-date screening boomed (47% vs. 15%) and the adjusted odds ratio of completed screening was higher after 2021 (AOR=4.7). Racial disparities also narrowed, with the ratio of non-Hispanic White people screened falling (76% vs. 88%).
- Brainomix Raises $18M: One company that bucked the VC funding slowdown is AI developer Brainomix, which announced an $18M Series C round. Brainomix will use the funding to expand internationally and especially in the U.S., where it has 10 FDA clearances for AI applications, including its flagship Brainomix 360 Stroke platform. Brainomix last year announced FDA clearance for its Brainomix 360 e-Lung application.
- Automated MRI for Parkinson’s: AI developer neuropacs is highlighting a new study in JAMA Neurology with the company’s technology for analyzing MRI scans. Researchers used neuropacs to analyze 3T diffusion MRI scans of 249 patients with Parkinson’s disease and related disorders, finding it differentiated Parkinson’s versus atypical parkinsonism (AUROC=0.96) as well as PD from other conditions like multiple system atrophy (AUROC=0.98). Up to 45% of patients clinically diagnosed with PD are found to actually have another form of parkinsonism.
- PiB-PET of Alzheimer’s Drug: PET scans of an experimental Alzheimer’s drug played a central role in a story generating headlines last week. Researchers used PET with the Pittsburgh Compound B radiotracer to track changes in amyloid brain plaques for 22 people given gantenerumab, a discontinued Alzheimer’s drug candidate. PiB-PET scans showed a 50% lower risk of developing symptoms for those who took gantenerumab the longest. The question is whether the same effect would come from Alzheimer’s treatments that have reached the market.
- Siemens Lands Big Canada Contract: Siemens Healthineers landed a massive contract valued at $800M CAD ($558M USD) to provide cancer technology to the Canadian province of Alberta to replace existing oncology treatment and imaging equipment. Siemens will also invest $175M CAD ($122M USD) of its own funds over eight years to help create two cancer centers of excellence in Alberta, one focusing on oncology training and the other on AI and machine learning.
- Imaging Errors in the U.K.: A new investigation by a U.K. watchdog agency focuses on medical image interpretation errors in the NHS. The country’s Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman found over three dozen cases of imaging-related errors in a follow-up to a 2021 report on medical mistakes. The most common errors were failing to identify abnormalities, scans not performed or delayed, and results not being followed up.
|
|
Leading the Way in AI Transparency
There’s a need to better inform radiologists about AI’s role when interpreting images and generating measurements. Visage Imaging’s Visage 7 can display text in the viewer indicating that AI was used as a diagnostic aid – find out how it works today.
|
|
Big Savings, Bigger Impact
Learn how University of Rochester Medical Center is saving $200k annually and improving patient engagement in this video from PocketHealth.
|
|
Advancing AI-Driven Data Migration
Enlitic has joined forces with GE HealthCare to power the data migration feature in GE’s newly announced Genesis cloud portfolio. Learn how Enlitic’s AI-driven data migration facilitates large-scale transfers of high-quality medical imaging data.
|
|
- Visit Us2.ai at ACC 2025: Us2.ai will be at ACC 2025 March 29-31. Join them for live scanning and experience the cutting-edge AI technology that’s redefining echocardiography. Find them in the booths of Viz.ai #11055 or Fujifilm #13001.
- Unlock Next-Generation AI with Foundation Models: Learn about Microsoft’s new family of cutting-edge multimodal medical imaging foundation models designed for healthcare organizations to test, fine-tune, and build tailored AI solutions specific to their needs, while minimizing extensive compute and data requirements.
- Celebrating Happy Customers: There’s nothing better than happy customers. Find out what radiology personnel at Western New York MRI in Buffalo had to say about their new uMR 680 scanner from United Imaging.
- 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.
- Perspectives on Cybersecurity in Medical Imaging: Healthcare organizations are a prime target for cyberattacks, so how can you proactively defend yourself against these threats? Learn how to protect your operations – and your patients – in this March 27 webinar from Merge by Merative.
- Next-Generation Enterprise Imaging: U.S. healthcare organizations are making a definitive pivot to cloud technology. In this white paper from AGFA HealthCare and HIMSS, learn about the benefits of cloud-based enterprise imaging. Download the white paper today.
- Join Clearpath at RBMA 2025 in Nashville! Discover why RBMA attendees trust Clearpath to streamline access to images and documents for legal requestors, patients, and healthcare providers. Don’t miss the chance to learn how they can help your organization – schedule a meeting or visit them at booth #211.
- Say Goodbye to On-Premises Costs: Free up resources with cloud-based solutions from Optum for medical imaging. Visit this page to see how you can say goodbye to on-premises costs!
- The Future of SmartTechnology: SmartTechnology is DeepHealth’s solution for bringing informatics and imaging systems closer together by embedding informatics into hardware, creating completely new workflows. Learn how it works in this interview with CTO Sham Sokka.
- 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.
- Integrating AI into Clinical Practice: AI has the potential to revolutionize healthcare, but it requires a collaborative effort between clinicians and AI experts. In this micro-learning course from Calantic by Bayer, learn about the latest developments in healthcare AI.
- 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.
- AI Enables Automated Cobb Angle Measurements: Gleamer’s BoneMetrics AI solution accurately predicted the Cobb angle of scoliosis patients with high accuracy compared to manual measurements made by clinicians. Learn more in this paper.
- Streamline Your Radiology Workflow: Intelerad’s InteleOne provides a streamlined reading workflow for radiologists regardless of where the images come from. Book a demo today to learn how it can improve quality of life and productivity.
- Start at the Source to Improve MRI: Looking for ways to improve MRI speed and image quality while addressing broader concerns in healthcare? The answer may lie in proven MRI physics in your existing scanner – learn how to unlock it with STAGE from SpinTech MRI.
- Get the 2024 Radiology Practice Development Report: Medality surveyed more than 3,300 radiologists fand discovered the most critical training gaps and growth opportunities in radiology for its 2024 Radiology Practice Development Report. Download your complimentary report today.
- Catch What You’ve Missed on Unboxing AI: Missed an episode of Unboxing AI, CARPL’s video series on AI in radiology? Check out all the past episodes on their YouTube channel.
|
|
|
|
|
