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Managing Incidental Findings, WB-MRI Review, and ACEP News
September 15, 2025
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Together with
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“In medical imaging and healthcare, there is no future without AI. I can’t take seriously any medtech company that hasn’t already used AI to improve its products or services.”
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Amine Korchi, MD, in a LinkedIn post.
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Did you miss our webinar last week on integrating breast imaging with enterprise image management systems? If so don’t worry — it’s now available on-demand!
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The number of incidental findings on medical imaging scans nearly quadrupled over nine years at a large academic medical center. That’s according to a new JACR analysis that fortunately offers strategies for following up on these unexpected imaging discoveries.
Incidental findings – defined as suspicious areas on medical images that aren’t related to a patient’s chief concern – comprise 15-30% of all medical imaging exams and are a growing challenge in radiology as imaging volume rises.
- Radiologists have a responsibility to include incidental findings in their reports, but who’s responsible for making sure patients know about them?
Healthcare providers have adopted different methods for incidental follow-up, ranging from workflow changes to medical IT solutions.
In the current study, researchers from Northwestern University describe the incidental follow-up system they developed, which worked as follows…
- An electronic button was embedded in the EMR for radiologists to click when an incidental finding was detected.
- This relayed a note to the nursing team, which ensured that the patient’s care provider (or the patient themselves) knew about the finding.
- The system required cases to be resolved when patients were notified of their findings and were told of the next steps to take.
In an analysis covering a total of 25.2k incidental findings from 2015 to 2023, researchers discovered…
- The number of findings grew at a compound annual growth rate of 21% with an average of 233 per month.
- Annual findings grew from 835 in 2015 to 4k in 2023 – a nearly 4X increase.
- 99% of findings were resolved.
- Cases had to be resolved within seven months of the finding’s discovery.
One caveat is that Northwestern considered the loop closed once the patient was notified of the finding, rather than whether the patient complied with the recommendation.
- A more robust protocol might involve additional longitudinal tracking to measure downstream effectiveness, which the authors note as a possibility for future research.
The Takeaway
The new study underscores the stunning growth of incidental findings in radiology. But it also offers hope to imaging facilities through implementation of a simple IT fix and workforce changes that go a long way toward keeping patients notified of their imaging results.
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Unlocking Precision – A New Era of AI-Powered CT
AI is transforming diagnostic imaging, especially in CT. Discover how Prof. Davide Ippolito is leading the way with the Philips CT 5300, pioneering ways to reduce radiation dose while improving image quality and setting a new standard for the future of CT.
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Cost Savings from AI for Fracture Detection
Using AI to analyze X-rays for wrist, ankle, and hip fractures in the emergency setting can save costs while improving patient care. Read how the NHS did it with Gleamer’s BoneView solution.
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- Study Explores Value of Whole-Body MRI: The benefits and challenges of whole-body MRI were explored in a meta-analysis in European Radiology that surveyed 10 research studies including a total of 9k individuals without symptoms who got WB-MRI scans. WB-MRI had a cancer detection rate of 1.57%, showing potential as a noninvasive cancer detection tool that could have its greatest value in assuring people they are cancer-free. Higher detection rates were found in studies using diffusion-weighted imaging and without gadolinium contrast.
- Managing CT Contrast Reactions: The death of a Brazilian woman last month from an allergic reaction to iodinated CT contrast underscores the importance of managing these patients. Research presented at last week’s ACEP Research Forum 2025 offers guidance, tracking anaphylactic contrast reactions at Mayo Clinic over 10 years. In all, there were 124 anaphylaxis cases, with one fatality and 13 near-fatalities. Researchers found a “relatively low” rate of epinephrine use (55%), which they said suggested a gap in patient management. They also recommended longer patient monitoring.
- CCTA Cuts Patient Length of Stay: Sure, coronary CT angiography is equal to stress testing from a clinical standpoint, but what about economically? CCTA reduced patient length of stay versus stress testing in research at ACEP Research Forum 2025. Researchers studied 163 patients who got either test in the emergency setting, finding that CCTA reduced length of stay by 6.5 hours. CCTA’s time benefit varied based on whether the order was placed before 12 pm (-16 vs. -6.5 hours), as earlier scans enabled same-day patient discharge.
- Reducing CT Overuse for GI Bleeds: CT for gastrointestinal bleeding is a commonly overused imaging test in the emergency setting. But researchers were able to identify unnecessary GI scans through a quality improvement project presented at ACEP Research Forum 2025. They developed an algorithm that categorized physician ordering patterns for 11.6k CT scans, finding that while abdominal pain was the most frequent indication, GI bleeds were found on only 5% of scans. Six providers ordered a disproportionate number of scans and were targeted for education.
- Tempus Pixel’s Updated FDA Clearance: Tempus AI received FDA 510(k) clearance for its updated Tempus Pixel cardiac imaging platform, which now generates T1 and T2 inline maps for enhanced cardiac MRI analysis. These maps provide precise tissue characterization values, helping detect conditions like fibrosis and inflammation that conventional MR images might miss. The AI-powered platform improves efficiency and accuracy, enabling clinicians to make faster, more informed decisions and deliver personalized patient care through advanced automated reporting capabilities.
- Intermountain Improves CT Turnaround: Intermountain Medical Center in Utah felt turnaround times for the 61k CT scans it performs annually were too slow, so it launched a quality improvement initiative that cut times sharply. As described in a talk at ACEP Research Forum 2025, Intermountain standardized CT facilitator and emergency expediter roles, established an escalation pathway, and introduced structured shift huddles. The moves paid off with faster emergency CT turnaround times (76 vs. 90 minutes) and order-to-start times (45 vs. 56 minutes).
- Teleradiology Cuts Turnaround Times: In another study from ACEP Research Forum 2025, researchers found that using a teleradiology service for overnight reads rather than holding them until an attending radiologist could sign off significantly reduced turnaround times for CT brain and spine exams. Over a year, TAT fell for CT head (1.5 vs. 4.8 hours), CT cervical spine (1.9 vs. 5.3 hours), CT thoracic spine (2.1 vs. 5.4 hours), and CT lumbar spine scans (2.4 vs. 5.4 hours).
- GE Taps DocPanel for PET Support: DocPanel Technologies signed an agreement with GE HealthCare to provide support to clinicians reading PET studies acquired with GE’s Cerianna radiotracer for detecting estrogen receptor-positive lesions in patients with recurrent or metastatic breast cancer. Expert radiologists and nuclear medicine physicians in DocPanel’s network will provide reader training and support on a complimentary basis. GE acquired Cerianna with its purchase of Zionexa in 2021.
- SPECT MPI Predicts Long-Term Mortality: Amid the debate over functional versus anatomic cardiac imaging, a new Academic Radiology study shows that SPECT myocardial perfusion imaging still works well in predicting long-term mortality. In 2.3k patients in Taiwan who got functional SPECT MPI, after eight years of follow-up all-cause mortality was predicted by MPI severity at both rest and stress (HR = 1.25 and 1.29, respectively). Coronary revascularization reduced mortality risk (HR = 0.43). SPECT continues to be valuable in managing patients.
- CCTA for Congenital Heart Condition: Right anomalous aortic origin of a coronary artery is a congenital heart condition that’s relatively rare but could use a diagnostic alternative to invasive pressure-wire fractional flow reserve. In a small study with 55 patients in JAMA Cardiology, researchers showed that coronary CT angiography is a good first-line test for R-AAOCA, with 100% sensitivity and 57% specificity, ruling out 42% of cases. Functional imaging with nuclear cardiology can be used next to rule out even more patients and reduce invasive FFR.
- FDA Go-Ahead for Liver Disease Assessment: The FDA is moving toward approving the use of noninvasive ultrasound-based techniques like elastography as tools that could replace biopsy for assessing liver stiffness in clinical trials of patients with non-cirrhotic metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, or MASH. The FDA’s move will benefit Echosens, which makes the FibroScan technology for MASH analysis, and the company recently signed a deal with Novo Nordisk to use FibroScan in clinical trials assessing the Wegovy GLP-1 treatment for MASH.
- Imvaria to Develop Oncology AI: AI developer Imvaria has received an NIH SBIR grant to expand its CT algorithms into oncology. The company has received FDA clearances for its Fibresolve algorithm for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and ScreenDx for interstitial lung disease, and will use the SBIR funds to adapt a version of Fibresolve for detecting lung cancer. Preliminary results were presented at ATS 2025, and Imvaria plans to advance the work to regulatory-grade performance and eventually develop a commercial solution it will offer alongside Fibresolve and ScreenDx.
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A Bold Transformation in Client Experience
Intelerad is transforming how it supports customers and partners with clients through a company-wide Client Obsession initiative. The company is making investments in new tools, technologies, and staff to remove friction and deliver value – find out how it works on this page.
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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.
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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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- Rapid AI Deployment in Emergency Care: University Hospitals used CARPL to deploy AZmed’s fracture detection tool directly in the emergency department, reducing interpretation time by 30% without disrupting workflows. Learn how UH accelerated AI deployment.
- Remote vs. Tableside Fluoroscopy: Choosing the right fluoroscopy system is critical – download this e-book from Siemens Healthineers to discover key safety and efficiency factors that will help you decide between remote and tableside options.
- AI Echo in Cardiovascular Disease Management: AI is reshaping echocardiography, paving the way for greater diagnostic accuracy, improved workflow efficiency, and enhanced patient care. Read this article to learn how AI echo solutions like Us2.ai are changing the landscape of cardiovascular imaging.
- Could AI Help People Live Longer? The most powerful transformation in healthcare may come not after illness appears, but through what we do before disease ever takes hold. Read this article from DeepHealth on how AI can fundamentally change the way we approach health.
- Advanced AI for Prostate MRI: QP-Prostate from Quibim is your advanced solution for detection and diagnosis of prostate cancer from MRI scans. Discover how it streamlines your workflow by detecting suspicious lesions, segmenting the prostate, and ensuring compliance with PI-RADS V2.1 guidelines.
- AI Innovations in Lung Disease: Check out this on-demand webcast to hear from Riverain Technologies and GE HealthCare executives as they discuss AI applications developed to detect lung nodules, in particular how AI can be integrated into PACS.
- 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.
- 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.
- How AI Is Redefining Data Migration: Enlitic’s Migratek data migration services – combined with AI-enabled ENDEX data standardization – is changing the game for data migration projects. Discover how it can benefit you in this article.
- Purchasing a Cloud-Hosted Enterprise Imaging Solution: The decision to move your enterprise imaging to the cloud is significant. But how do you choose the right solution? Discover the 10 critical questions to ask in this guide from AGFA HealthCare.
- Synoptic Reporting of Liver Masses: Contrast-enhanced ultrasound exams for focal liver lesions can be challenging to report in at-risk patients. Learn how Kailo Medical’s synoptic reporting solutions can make reporting easier while improving LI-RADS categorization.
- Going Global with Enterprise Imaging: Merge is going global by bringing its enterprise imaging solutions to new regions, marketplaces, and customers. Learn more about its recent initiatives in Puerto Rico, the U.K., Latin America, and Canada.
- Denoising AI’s True Potential for Medical Imaging: What is AI’s true potential in medical imaging? Find out in this American Hospital Association podcast with United Imaging CEO Jeffrey Bundy, PhD, and United Imaging Intelligence CEO Terrence Chen, PhD.
- 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.
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