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CT and Radiation, Cancer Survival, and Private Practice Decline
June 2, 2025
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Together with
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“The biggest thing we need to do with AI and radiology is democratize it.”
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RamSoft CEO and Co-Founder Vijay Ramanathan, speaking on CARPL’s Unboxing AI show.
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A new study revisits the debate over CT radiation risk, finding a link between greater use of CT scanning in a country and the percentage of patients getting higher cumulative doses of radiation over time.
Managing medical radiation has been a priority for decades, but the issue gained new prominence in April with the publication of a controversial paper linking CT use to future cancers.
- Critics accused study authors of sensationalizing the radiation dose issue, but researchers pointed out that they used existing models for radiation dose and cancer risk.
Enter the new study, in which a team led by international radiation safety expert Madan Rehani, PhD, calculated the number of patients getting over 100 mSv of cumulative radiation dose over five years across 27 countries, mostly in Europe.
- Radiation at such levels is concerning due to the established dose-response nature of current radiation theory – that is, higher doses are believed to lead to higher cancer risk.
Radiation dose exposure rates for CT, fluoroscopy-guided interventions, and PET were analyzed for 2022 for 513M people from Austria to the U.K., with a particular focus on patients getting over 100 mSv in a five-year period.
- For point of reference, a chest X-ray PA view is typically 0.02 mSv, a CT scan 1-10 mSv, and the average for a year of background radiation is about 3 mSv.
Researchers found …
- In all, 0.27% of the population received cumulative radiation exposure over 100 mSv.
- The countries with the highest rates of patients per 1k getting over 100 mSv included Belgium (4.52), Portugal (4.48), Luxembourg (4.19), and France (4.15).
- These same countries also tended to have the highest use rates of CT exams per 1k population, led by Portugal (285), Luxembourg (249), Belgium (226), and France (224).
- Countries with the lowest exposure rates over 100 mSv included Finland (1.09), Romania (1.1), Norway (1.64), and Bulgaria (1.76), and all had CT use rates below 100 exams per 1k population.
While the U.S. was not included in the study, other research shows it might fall at the upper end of the scale – if not at the top.
The Takeaway
The new study offers a sobering take on the radiation dose issue. While reasonable people can debate the exact link between low-level radiation exposure and cancer risk, it’s harder to justify such wide variation in CT use and cumulative radiation exposure between countries, especially those at similar levels of economic development.
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Making the Switch to Helium-Free MRI
Attend this June 3 webinar hosted by Philips to learn how helium-free MRI systems are redefining what’s possible in imaging – enhancing clinical care, protecting long-term investments, and enabling smarter, more sustainable operations across your healthcare enterprise.
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AI for Pediatric Fracture Detection
Pediatric fractures are common but can be easily missed on radiography. Meanwhile, AI tools for fracture detection have mostly been tested in adults. Learn how Gleamer’s BoneView AI solution helped clinicians find fractures in kids in a recent research study.
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The Future of AI in Healthcare
Learn from a panel of radiology key opinion leaders how AI will impact healthcare and future generations of medical professionals in this June 10 webinar hosted by Intelerad. Register now to secure your spot.
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- More People Surviving Cancer: More people are projected to survive cancer diagnoses in years to come, with breast cancer seeing the highest growth in the number of survivors. That’s according to the latest report from the American Cancer Society, which projects the number of cancer survivors to grow over the next 10 years (18.6M to over 22M). The number of female breast cancer survivors will grow 23% over the period (4.3M to 5.3M). The report credits earlier detection and better treatment.
- Better Outcomes with Regular Breast Screening: Meanwhile, a new study in Radiology: Imaging Cancer underscores the benefits of regular mammography screening – especially in women for whom screening is more controversial. In a study of 821 patients diagnosed with breast cancer, women who got screened less often were more likely to have advanced cancer among ages 40-49 (68% vs 6.1%) and 75 years and over (72% vs. 27%). Women with symptom-detected cancers were 63% more likely to die of breast cancer.
- Stroke Software’s Positive Trend: Mayo Clinic researchers saw positive trends for Brainomix software for telestroke diagnosis, but may need a larger study to achieve statistical significance. In tests of Brainomix 360 Stroke in 907 patients at 17 telestroke sites, delivery time for intravenous thrombolysis fell (47 to 41 minutes) while time to endovascular therapy rose slightly (156 to 157 minutes). IVT use rate rose (27% to 35%) while EVT use stayed at 31%. The numbers weren’t statistically significant, however, so the authors suggested a larger study.
- Brain Aging Study Releases Imaging Data: Texas researchers have released data from their long-term study of brain aging in which MRI and PET were among the tools used to track brain and cognitive health over time. The Dallas Lifespan Brain Study tracked 464 people from 2008 to 2020, acquiring multiple imaging scans as study participants aged. The DLBS researchers made their data available publicly for analysis in hopes of spurring longevity research, as they explain in a paper in Nature’s Scientific Data.
- Annalise AI Goes Live at Leeds: Chest X-ray AI software from Annalise.ai has been deployed at an NHS hospital. Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has installed Annalise’s Enterprise CXR software to back up radiologists and detect serious conditions like sepsis and misplaced medical tubes on chest radiographs. The deployment is part of a regional project with the support of the NHS AI Diagnostic Fund, a scheme rolled out in 2023 to spur AI adoption.
- GE Touts PET Cancer Guidelines: GE HealthCare is highlighting new NCCN oncology guidelines that recommend PET with the fluoroestradiol radiotracer for systemic staging of patients with recurrent or metastatic lobular breast cancer. GE markets fluoroestradiol as Cerianna, and the company says it is the only FDA-approved imaging agent for ER+ breast cancer metastases. GE acquired Cerianna with its purchase of Zionexa in 2021.
- FDA Clears Hyperfine Software: The FDA has cleared image enhancement software from Hyperfine for use on the company’s Swoop ultralow-field MRI brain scanner. Hyperfine says its Optive AI solution provides a “substantial leap in image quality” for the 0.064T scanner, with some early clinical sites reporting quality approaching that of conventional 1.5T scanners. Optive AI includes enhancements from noise cancellation and image acquisition to reconstruction and post-processing.
- Surgical 3D Firm Raises $33M: Surgical 3D visualization firm See All AI raised $33M to commercialize its AI-based technology for converting 2D C-arm fluoroscopy images into 3D volumes for guiding minimally invasive surgical procedures. The technology produces cross-sectional volumetric 1mm slices that eliminate the need for pre-operative CT or MRI scans, and See All AI hopes to leverage the global installed base of 150k fluoroscopy units with an intraoperative guidance solution that’s cheaper with lower radiation dose.
- Arineta Adds Lung Cancer to Cardiac CT: The FDA granted 510(k) clearance to Arineta to market its SpotLight Duo cardiac CT scanner for lung cancer applications. The clearance enables Arineta to market SpotLight Duo for low-dose lung cancer screening in addition to cardiovascular applications. Spotlight Duo captures the entire heart in a single beat, featuring 140mm coverage at 0.24 seconds per rotation, with deep-learning technology to enhance image quality.
- Philips Debuts Intracardiac Echo Catheter: Philips launched an intracardiac echocardiography catheter in Europe to help guide interventional cardiac procedures such as TAVR and left atrial appendage closure. The company’s VeriSight Pro 3D ICE catheter is 3 mm in diameter and provides 3D echo imaging inside the heart, helping physicians make better clinical decisions during structural heart and electrophysiology interventions. The catheter works with Philips’ EPIQ ultrasound scanners and offers an alternative to transesophageal echocardiography, which often requires general anesthesia and extended room time.
- BrightHeart’s 3rd FDA Clearance: Notching BrightHeart’s third FDA clearance in less than a year, the FDA granted 510(k) clearance for its B-Right Views software for automating fetal heart ultrasound. B-Right Views uses AI to automatically detect the standard views for second- and third-trimester fetal heart ultrasound. This allows clinicians and sonographers to save time by confirming when all recommended views are captured and documented, which supports exam completeness and consistency regardless of operator experience.
- U.K. Launches AI Research Platform: An NHS Trust hospital in the U.K. collaborated with CARPL and NTT Data to develop a platform to power the development of oncology AI algorithms. The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust said the platform will be used to develop and evaluate AI algorithms for cancer research. It runs on an MLOps platform built and operated by NTT Data on Dell servers, with algorithm orchestration provided by CARPL.
- Private Practice Decline: The number of physicians working in private practices in the U.S. continues its steady decline. A new report from the AMA found that the share of private-practice physicians fell 18 percentage points from 2012 to 2024 (60% to 42%). Driving the trend are factors like costly resources, burdensome regulations, and declining reimbursement (Medicare payments down 33% over 25 years). About 50% of radiologists still work in private practices, higher than cardiology (31%) but lower than orthopedic surgery (54%).
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2 Questions about AI for Radiology Leaders
Are today’s radiology AI solutions solving the right problems? And are there other solutions available for AI of brain MRI? Read this article from SpinTech MRI to learn how its STAGE solution can optimize MRI utilization.
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The Transformative Role of AI in Radiology
In this episode of The Radiology Report Podcast, Medality’s Daniel Arnold sits down with Dr. John Simon, who shares his insights into the transformative role of AI in radiology and its ability to enhance efficiency, improve patient care, and unlock new diagnostic possibilities.
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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.
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- Top Productivity Tools for Radiologists: Radiologists today face growing demands for speed, collaboration, and accuracy. Watch this on-demand 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.
- Coming Soon – A New Era in Fluoroscopy: Siemens Healthineers has created something so groundbreaking, it may transform your fluoroscopy imaging: LUMINOS Q.namix is coming soon. Learn more on this page.
- AI-Based Automated Echo Measurements: Discover how researchers improved sonographer workflow using AI-based automated echocardiography measurements in the AI-ECHO randomized crossover trial on this page from Us2.ai.
- Seamless, Connected Healthcare: Clearpath is committed to facilitating seamless, continued healthcare by optimizing automation and workflows between patients and providers. Learn how the company’s solutions contribute to a healthcare environment where every step of the patient journey is connected and efficient.
- Presenting Unboxing AI: Check out CARPL’s video series, Unboxing AI, featuring experts discussing AI and its future in radiology. The next episode on June 5 features Jake Fishman of Insight Links – reserve your seat today.
- A New Cloud-Based Viewing Solution: Mach7 Technologies has achieved a major milestone with the release of its eUnity Enterprise Diagnostic Viewer with the Amazon Web Services (AWS) HealthImaging Cloud. Learn how this solution creates simplicity for users while enabling faster diagnoses and better patient outcomes.
- 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.
- 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.
- Revolutionizing 3D Imaging: Learn how Visage Imaging is revolutionizing 3D imaging for radiology with its Visage Ease VP solution for the Apple Vision Pro headset in this video with Steve Deaton, director of customer experience.
- Blackford Highlights from SIIM 2025: What were some of the highlights in the Blackford booth at SIIM 2025? We talked to Chief Product Officer Chris Meenan about the new alliances and technologies the AI platform company was showcasing in Portland.
- AI-Powered Early Breast Cancer Detection: DeepHealth parent RadNet is expanding its presence in mammography AI with its pending acquisition of iCAD. Find out how the transaction will accelerate AI-powered early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer on this page.
- Preparing for the Future of Enterprise Imaging: What do health IT and imaging leaders need to know about moving medical images to the cloud? Find out how to prepare for enterprise imaging’s future in this downloadable e-book from Optum.
- 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.
- The Benefits of Structured Reporting: Kailo Medical hopes to revolutionize radiology with its structured reporting solutions. At SIIM 2025, we talked to Lauren Therriault and Denholm Rhys about the latest developments at the company and why structured reporting is a benefit to radiologists.
- Introducing Voice-Controlled Interventional X-Ray: United Imaging’s uAngio AVIVA is the industry’s first intelligent voice-controlled interventional X-ray system, enabling interventional staff to keep their focus where it belongs: on the patient. Discover AVIVA’s advantages on this page.
- Revolutionize the Reading Experience: With intelligent automation and AI‑powered workflow, PowerScribe One from Microsoft allows radiologists to generate and communicate high‑quality, consistent reports. Discover how it can help you get more done in less time.
- Building an Enterprise Imaging Ecosystem: What’s the best way to bring smaller clinics and rural hospitals into your enterprise imaging ecosystem? Find out how MultiCare Health System did it in this white paper from Merge.
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