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Opportunistic Calcium Scoring, AI for DBT, and Soothing Patients
April 28, 2025
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Together with
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“The current U.S. radiologist job market is a buyer’s market in comparison with other recent periods, and a radiologist newly entering the workforce or seeking a change in their current position has multiple options for future employment.”
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Francis Cloran, MD, in an AJR article on career options for new radiologists.
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Most of the recent research on calcium scoring has focused on calcium in the coronary arteries and its link to cardiovascular disease. But a new study in American Heart Journal used abdominal CT scans with AI analysis for opportunistic measurement of abdominal aortic calcium to predict cardiac events – possibly earlier than CAC scores.
CT-derived CAC scores have become a powerful tool for predicting cardiovascular disease, helping physicians determine when to begin preventive therapy with treatments like statins.
- CAC scores can be generated from dedicated cardiac CT scans, or even lung screening exams as part of a two-for-one test.
Abdominal CT represents another promising area for calculating calcium.
- Previous research has found that atherosclerosis in the abdominal aorta may occur before its development in the coronary arteries, creating the opportunity to detect calcium earlier.
Researchers from NYU Langone did just that in the new study, performing abdominal and cardiac CT scans in 3.6k patients and using an AI algorithm they developed in partnership with Visage Imaging to calculate AAC. They found that over an average three-year follow-up period …
- AI analysis of AAC severity was positively associated with CAC.
- AAC could be used to rule out the presence of CAC relative to two versions of the PREVENT score (AUC=0.701 and 0.7802).
- The presence of AAC was associated with a higher adjusted risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (HR=2.18).
- A doubling of the AAC score was linked to 11% higher risk of MACE.
The Takeaway
The new results are an exciting demonstration of opportunistic screening’s value, especially given the volume of abdominal CT scans performed annually. AI analysis of routinely acquired abdominal CT could give radiologists a tool for detecting heart disease risk even earlier than what’s possible with CAC scoring.
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3 Ways AI Can Enhance Radiology Workflows
While disease detection was the initial driver for AI in radiology, the technology can also help improve workflows and reduce workloads for radiologists. Learn how AI can contribute in this article from Merge by Merative.
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Visit Kailo Medical at SIIM 2025
Learn about the latest synoptic reporting solutions by visiting Kailo Medical at booth #539 at SIIM 2025. Book an appointment today to find out how their technology can make radiology reporting easier while maximizing efficiency.
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Top 3 Productivity Tools for Radiologists
Radiologists today face growing demands for speed, collaboration, and accuracy. Attend this May 8 webinar to learn from clinical and IT leaders from the University of Michigan Health – Sparrow and AGFA HealthCare as they share the top tools helping radiologists work smarter.
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- DBT AI Detects Missed Breast Cancers: The Society of Breast Imaging’s annual meeting wrapped up this weekend, and one study that grabbed headlines involved using AI for DBT screening exams. MGH researchers employed Hologic’s Genius AI Detection 2.0 algorithm to analyze 5k patients, finding that AI correctly detected and localized 90% of true-positive cancers while detecting 32% of false-negative cancers – those missed by radiologists. The findings suggest that there are differences between breast cancers detected by radiologists and those found with AI.
- Radiologist Job Market Stays Hot: It’s still a hot job market for radiologists, and newly minted imagers enjoy a range of possible career opportunities. That’s according to a new AJR paper that surveys the market, finding that the national physician shortage and rising imaging volume are driving demand for radiologists. Career opportunities range from private practice (79% of practicing radiologists) to academic centers (15%) to the federal government (3%) – each with its own benefits and drawbacks.
- Fetal MRI Reveals Pediatric Heart Problems: Infants born with congenital heart disease have signs of placental failure visible on MRI scans acquired when they were in utero. In a paper in JAMA Network Open, researchers performed MRI scans on 108 fetuses, finding that those with CHD had smaller fetal body volumes and total brain volumes, and larger fetal-to-placental-volume ratios than healthy controls. The findings suggest that placental failure was connected to fetal growth disturbances in those with CHD that could contribute to neurodevelopmental disability.
- AI Enables 5-Minute Knee MRI: Amid all the discussion of AI-driven accelerated MRI exams comes a new study in AJR showing how researchers developed a 3T MRI protocol using parallel imaging and simultaneous multislice acceleration from Siemens Healthineers that takes less than five minutes (a 6X acceleration). In tests on 124 patients, radiologists scored image quality as good to very good, with high inter-reader agreement (k=0.86). Sensitivity for various knee pathologies ranged from the upper 90s for ACL tears to upper 80s for articular cartilage defects.
- FDA Clears Prostate AI for POCUS: The FDA cleared Clarius Prostate AI, a semi-automatic algorithm from Clarius for calculating prostate volume from handheld POCUS exams. Prostate volume measurements are key in diagnosing conditions like benign prostate hyperplasia and prostate cancer, but rely on manual measurements that can vary by operator. The new tool is available on Clarius scanners customized for urology use, such as the C3 HD3 transducer.
- Reducing X-Ray Radiation Dose: Most of the recent focus on AI-based medical imaging dose reduction has been on CT, but dose can also be lowered in X-ray. In a new study in Radiography, researchers used Canon’s Intelligent Noise Reduction protocol to improve image quality and lower dose for planar radiography images acquired with Canon’s CXDI-410C detectors. In tests with phantoms and chest X-rays of 100 patients, Intelligent NR reduced dose by 35% with no statistically significant difference in image quality scores.
- CCTA Better Directs Statin Use: CCTA is more effective than clinical guidelines for directing which patients should get statins to reduce their risk of cardiac events. Researchers from China studied 7.9k outpatients without coronary artery disease who got CCTA scans, finding that future cardiac events were better predicted by CCTA measures of non-obstructive and obstructive CAD (HR=5.4 and 11.5 respectively) than the level of statin dose prescribed according to clinical factors like cholesterol levels (HR=1.4-1.9).
- Therapixel Lands Mayo for MammoScreen: French mammography AI company Therapixel landed a big fish for its MammoScreen algorithm, signing an agreement with Mayo Clinic, where radiologists will use MammoScreen as a decision aid when interpreting screening mammograms. Therapixel also recently signed Onsite Women’s Health as a client to use MammoScreen at its over 150 locations across 26 states.
- Duke’s LDCT Dataset: AI algorithms are only as good as the data they’re trained on. In a big advance for AI of low-dose CT lung cancer screening, Duke University created the Duke Lung Cancer Screening dataset, a database of 2.1k LDCT scans acquired from 2015 to 2021. The DLCS database features 3.2k annotated nodules and also includes Lung-RADS scores, which are lacking in older CT datasets and can help with pulmonary nodule classification. Researchers describe the project in a paper in Radiology: Artificial Intelligence.
- AI Data Training Alliance: Speaking of algorithm training, two players in the AI data segment are partnering to make datasets more accessible to AI developers and researchers. OneMedNet and Protege signed an alliance that makes OneMedNet’s real-time longitudinal patient records available to users of the Protege platform, which links data providers with AI developers.
- Konica Minolta Adds Patient Scheduling: Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas is adding patient scheduling and engagement tools to its Exa PACS and RIS software through a partnership with openDoctor. openDoctor has developed tools for radiology scheduling and workflow automation – including appointment reminders, insurance eligibility checks, registration forms, and payments – that will be integrated with Konica Minolta’s image and information management offerings.
- Redesigned Rooms Soothe CCTA Patients: Calming patients down before their CCTA exams could be as simple as redesigning the waiting room to make it more soothing. In a new study in European Radiology, researchers kitted out their department’s waiting room with four landscape paintings and added speakers playing a relaxing YouTube playlist. Out of 216 patients who got CCTA, those who waited in the redesigned room had 54% lower beta blocker use, 29% lower anxiety scores, and 21% lower radiation dose.
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Visit United Imaging at ISMRM 2025
United Imaging is reaching new clinical heights in MRI with new innovations like 5T MRI and its uAiFI technology. Visit the company at ISMRM 2025 at booth #A18 or attend one of its conference events.
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Ranked #1 Best in KLAS for 3 Consecutive Years
Named Best in KLAS 2025, Microsoft’s PowerShare earns praise from clinicians and other imaging stakeholders for seamless medical image exchange. Hear how it’s benefiting customers and patients.
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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.
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- Book a Visage Demo at SIIM 2025: Visage Imaging is trailblazing medical imaging’s SaaS move to the cloud with an open cloud philosophy based on industry standards and multi-cloud support. Learn more by registering for a priority demo at SIIM 2025 or visit them at booths #627-631.
- 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.
- Incorporating Digital Pathology in Your Enterprise Imaging Strategy: As digital pathology exams grow in size and complexity, healthcare organizations face increasing challenges. Attend this Mach7 Technologies webinar on May 8 to hear real-world experiences from the University of Michigan on how they unified radiology and pathology.
- How to Standardize CT Images: The quality and appearance of CT scans can vary considerably. In this white paper from Riverain Technologies, find out how image normalization can standardize CT images, making them easier to analyze and interpret.
- Visit Enlitic at SIIM 2025: Visit Enlitic at SIIM 2025 at booth #530 to learn about their solutions for data standardization and migration, including their new partnership with GE HealthCare powering the data migration feature in GE’s new Genesis cloud portfolio. Book a demo today.
- Patient Engagement and Big Savings: Learn how University of Rochester Medical Center is saving $200K annually and improving patient engagement in this video from PocketHealth.
- A Pivotal Moment for Clinical AI Policy: In this episode of The Radiology Report podcast, Medality’s Daniel Arnold interviews Peter Shen of Siemens Healthineers about major developments in AI regulation and reimbursement, including the introduction of the Health Tech Investment Act (S.1399).
- 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 – by watching this on-demand webinar from Merge by Merative.
- Connect with Intelerad at SIIM 2025: Join Intelerad at booth #533 at SIIM 2025 to learn how they are redefining healthcare imaging with innovative solutions designed to provide a clear path to answers. Schedule your visit today.
- Visit Philips at ISMRM 2025: Philips will be showcasing its AI-driven connected imaging, optimized workflows, and integrated clinical solutions for MRI at ISMRM 2025. See their conference highlights or drop by at booth #D41.
- AI for Lung Cancer Diagnosis and Screening: Check out this comprehensive new eBook from Calantic by Bayer on the role of AI in lung cancer diagnosis and screening. It explores AI’s potential role in improving lung cancer screening strategies, identifying high-risk individuals, and enhancing diagnostic accuracy. Download it today.
- 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%.
- AI-Automated Thoracic Measurements: AI-generated measurements from Us2.ai’s AI echo software had good agreement with expert cardiologists for detecting signs of aortic dilation in patients with aortic stenosis in a recent clinical study. Find out how well it worked on this page.
- Presenting Unboxing AI: Check out CARPL’s video series, Unboxing AI, featuring experts discussing AI and its future in radiology. The next episode on May 1 features Andrej Rusakov of Remedylogic – reserve your seat today.
- Give Patients a Clear Path to Accessing Medical Data: Clearpath is a simple integration that empowers digital delivery of medical records and images. Request a demo today to find out how you can ditch the disc and give your patients and third parties instant access to digital data.
- The Benefits of the Cloud for Enterprise Imaging: How are you preparing for the future of cloud-based enterprise imaging? In this downloadable e-book from Optum, learn about the benefits of cloud-based enterprise imaging and how to develop a strategy that works for you.
- An Update from DeepHealth: What are the latest developments at DeepHealth? Check out this video interview with company executives Kees Wesdorp and Niccolo Stefani, who discuss the company’s recent highlights.
- A New Resource for AI of MRI: Gleamer is expanding into AI of MRI with its acquisition of innovative AI developers Pixyl and Caerus Medical. Learn how the company is creating the most comprehensive AI portfolio for medical imaging.
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