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Top 6 Radiology Trends, ABUS Superiority, and CMS Payment Reform
By Brian Casey, Jack Troy, Virginia Hunt.
July 9, 2026
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Together with
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“I’m coming to terms with the fact that I may be part of a dying breed of physicians whose mentors back in the day used to berate them for ordering any scan without being able to clearly articulate what exactly you’re looking for and what the pretest probability is. Instead now CT scans have essentially been continually abused as an extension of the physical exam.”
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Urologist and Tufts University Professor David Canes, MD.
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Summer is rounding into form at the midpoint of the year, and there’s no better time than now to review the top six stories on The Imaging Wire for 2026’s first half. We hope you’re enjoying this list with a frosty beverage on a remote desert island! – Brian Casey, Managing Editor
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The first half of 2026 is now in our rear-view mirror. As we do every year, we’ve compiled a list of the top six stories – one for each month – to help recap what was important in medical imaging.
Radiology Reporting Booms as Microsoft Sunsets PowerScribe 360
Microsoft’s announcement in February that it would be sunsetting its PowerScribe 360 radiology reporting software set off a scramble for market share that continues months later. While PowerScribe was instrumental in moving radiology to speech recognition-based reporting, many radiology facilities are seeing the announcement as a chance to adopt more modern AI-powered reporting solutions.
Radiology Dominates List of New AI Approvals
The FDA regularly updates its list of AI-enabled medical devices with marketing authorizations, and our coverage of the agency’s decisions was the second most-popular story of 2026’s first half. As with previous updates, radiology dominated the list, garnering 76% of all authorizations since the agency began keeping count and 75% in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Residency Push Skips Radiology
Workforce shortages are a hot story across healthcare, and radiology is no exception. But the specialty won’t be getting much help from a federal initiative to add more resident training slots. Of the more than 400 residency programs awarded funding so far, only two diagnostic radiology programs were selected.
Radiologist Quit Rates Double in a Decade
Having to do more work with less personnel could be convincing many radiologists to leave the profession. Our readers paid close attention to a February story on a JACR study that documented a doubling of the radiologist quit rate over 10 years, and the exact point in terms of case workload when rads were most likely to leave.
Data Is Lacking on AI’s ROI
As radiology AI slowly moves from pilot projects to widespread clinical adoption, a new survey reveals a paradox: The technology is popular with radiologists, but few imaging facilities using AI have collected hard data showing its return on investment. That’s according to another popular story from April.
Study Finds Variation in Radiologist Workload
Our sixth and final top story of 2026 addressed the growth in imaging volume since the COVID-19 pandemic, and how radiologists responded. Researchers found that volume did indeed grow faster than the supply of radiologists, but some imagers were doing more than others in picking up the slack.
The Takeaway
Our readers have apparently been interested in workload issues so far this year, as evidenced by the fact that three of the top six stories on The Imaging Wire for the first half of 2026 had something to do with radiology’s rising exam volume and its ramifications. The other half broadly addressed AI and imaging IT issues. See a connection?
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Reimbursement for AI-Powered CAC Scoring
Medicare reimbursement for AI-powered coronary artery calcium scoring is now available with code G0680. Find out how it can impact your practice – and your patients – in this video interview with Riverain Technologies.
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KailoFlow Replaces the Patchwork
KailoFlow from Kailo Medical gives you one platform from digital patient intake to final structured report, with automated measurement transfer, built-in TI-RADS and BI-RADS calculations, and pre-drafted reporting across any device, any site.
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Connected Imaging. Empowered Flow
Know those rare and indescribable moments at work when distractions melt away? AGFA HealthCare’s Enterprise Imaging Platform is designed to keep you in that hyper-focused state of mind all day long. Learn more about their solutions today.
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- CMS Targets Imaging Costs: The Trump administration’s push for site-neutral Medicare payments has reached radiology. A new CMS proposal would flatten reimbursements for non-contrast imaging between hospital-owned outpatient sites and doctor’s offices starting in 2027. Most rural hospitals would be unaffected. The agency projects a $260M reduction in Medicare Part B spending during the first year. Hospitals have long argued that site neutrality fails to account for their sicker patient base, and look poised to fight tooth and nail against this latest push for equal payments.
- Dialing in LSS Diagnoses: A recent study in Academic Radiology suggests standard classifications could go a long way toward properly grading lumbar spinal stenosis. Researchers asked 36 physicians across six specialties to analyze 114 lumbar MRIs. The standardized scale boosted accuracy (54.5% vs. 61.2%) and agreement between doctors (71% vs. 75%), while cutting significantly misdiagnosed cases nearly in half (3.7% vs. 2%). Kudos to musculoskeletal radiologists, who had the best pre-intervention accuracy rate and strongest interobserver reliability — with and without the new scale — of any group.
- Keya Nabs FDA Clearance: China’s Keya Medical secured FDA 510(k) clearance for DEEPVESSEL Plaque, an AI-powered tool that analyzes CT angiograms for coronary stenosis and plaque buildup. The software creates a 3D map of the coronary tree, marks problem areas, and characterizes the plaque. Together with Keya’s DEEPVESSEL FFR, which hit the U.S market in 2023, clinicians can get a detailed anatomical and functional coronary assessment from a single CCTA scan.
- ABUS Beats HHUS: Automated ultrasound outperformed handheld scanners as a supplemental screening method for women with dense breasts in a new JACR study. Data from 21,110 handheld and 4,218 ABUS exams showed ABUS maintained cancer detection rates while slashing abnormal interpretations (14.9% vs. 19.2%), short interval follow-up recommendations (3% vs. 14.6%), and false-positive initial assessments (14.6% vs. 19.1%). Earlier research found ABUS can cut exam times and boost image quality.
- Quibim Enters Breast Imaging: Quibim launched its AI-powered breast cancer detection tool in Europe and the UK after securing regulatory clearances, bringing QP-Breast to market for the first time. Built on similar technology as Quibim’s flagship product, QP-Prostate, the system spots suspicious MRI findings and reports on their size, volume, location, and likelihood of malignancy. The software aims to help manage rising breast MRI scan volumes while limiting misdiagnoses and needless biopsies.
- CommonSpirit’s Teleradiology Troubles: Teleradiology surely has its place, but the recent transition to remote reads at a Tennessee hospital offers a striking tale of what can go wrong. Just weeks after swapping local radiologists for an India-based provider, CommonSpirit Health was forced to pause outpatient radiology services and prioritize more urgent imaging at Memorial Hospital in Chattanooga. Clinicians there complained of serious delays, vague reports, and diagnostic errors that may have compromised care. Even emergency scans were taking up to six hours to be interpreted.
- Inconsequential Incidental Findings: Any screening will produce incidental findings, but a new European Journal of Cancer study revealed that incidentals found via lung cancer screening are often unimportant. Data from 4.1k individuals who underwent baseline CT scans showed only 1.4% of patients had clinically relevant incidentals, nearly all of which were stable at annual follow-up. These results support broader use of CT lung cancer screening, without concern about a wave of incidental findings.
- Imagion Raises $2.6M for MRI Contrast: MRI contrast developer Imagion Biosystems raised $2.6M to fund further development of its MagSense imaging agent for HER2+ breast cancer. The FDA recently signed off on the company’s IND application for a Phase 2 clinical trial for MagSense, which is based on manganese rather than gadolinium. The new funds will support the trial — a freshly renewed collaboration between Imagion and Siemens Healthineers — with patient recruitment starting soon.
- Cercare’s Two Clearances: Cercare Medical scored back-to-back FDA 510(k) clearances as the Danish neuroimaging company strives for breakout success in North America. One of the cleared products, Oncology Virtual Expert, uses AI to segment MRIs of brain tumors, replacing time-intensive and somewhat subjective manual tracing. The other greenlit device, CBCT Perfusion, generates detailed neurovascular maps from C-arms during and immediately after a thrombectomy, helping clinicians spot stroke cases where clot removal fails to restore blood flow.
- Lung Cancer Screening Disparities: New research shows lung cancer prediction models generally underestimate risk for non-Hispanic Black patients and struggle to forecast cases in Asian populations. A cohort study in Annals of Internal Medicine reached these conclusions using data from 642k current or former smokers. Risk-based models produced better screening efficiency and reduced racial and ethnic gaps compared to the latest USPSTF criteria, an encouraging sign, but were hardly perfect.
- Visage’s Echo AI Investment: Pro Medicus, the corporate parent of Visage Imaging, plans to invest up to $14M in Australian cardiac software developer Echo IQ. The proposed deal would open with $7M plus another $7M if the FDA clears Echo IQ’s EchoSolv HF, an echocardiography AI platform for detecting heart failure. Beyond the capital, Visage would become a U.S. reseller of EchoSolv products, including a tool for spotting aortic stenosis, and embed them into its Visage 7 Cardiology PACS platform.
- More Money for Echo IQ: Shortly after unveiling the pending Pro Medicus partnership, Echo IQ raised roughly $76M by issuing 76M new shares. The funds will support the firm’s EchoSolv cardiac ultrasound software rollout, U.S. commercial expansion, and development of its broader cardiovascular AI platform. The raise follows FDA clearance for EchoSolv AS, an FDA-submitted application for EchoSolv HF, and a partnership with Mayo Clinic.
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New Tools for Detecting Cardiovascular Plaque
New imaging tools are advancing the detection of cardiovascular plaque – a key risk factor for heart attack. In this video, ClearCardio’s John Osborne, MD, PhD, discusses these innovations, including United Imaging’s uCT ATLAS CT scanner and their Software Upgrades for Life program.
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The Economics of AI-Assisted Heart Failure Diagnosis
An AI-assisted diagnostic pathway for diagnosing heart failure saved $1.4k per patient – without compromising diagnostic accuracy. Read the white paper from Us2.ai.
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Accelerate Enterprise Imaging in the Cloud
It’s more than a traditional VNA. Discover how Merge Imaging Suite VNA v26.0 provides robust vendor-neutral image archiving with the scalability and security of Microsoft Azure.
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- IT Solutions for Radiologist Efficiency: Inefficiencies in reporting are some of the biggest challenges facing radiologists today. Learn how imaging IT solutions from Altamont Software can help radiologists work more efficiently in this Imaging Wire Show video.
- Building a Life and Career in Radiology: What does it take to build a meaningful career in radiology? Erin Gomez, MD, talks about her unconventional path into medicine in the latest episode of Medality’s The Joys of Radiology with host Gautam Agarwal, MD.
- Preserve Your Radiography Investment: FutureProof 20 is Philips’ commitment to support their Radiography 7300 C for 20 years, helping you keep the system performing for decades, reducing total cost of ownership over the long run and letting you focus on the patient.
- Top Health Systems Are Providing Patient-Friendly Reports: Scanslated is the digital patient experience platform trusted at scale by Duke Health, Lumexa Imaging, and other patient-centric healthcare providers. Find out how Scanslated can work for you today.
- How Cloud-Based Enterprise Imaging Accelerates Insights: Cloud-based enterprise imaging shortens the path from scan to diagnosis by centralizing data, automating workflows, and enabling AI-driven prioritization. Find out how Intelerad’s cloud-native imaging platform can help you change healthcare delivery.
- Radiology Without Limits: Watch this video from Visage Imaging to learn how their Visage 7 solution enables you to achieve radiology without limits – performance, reliability, and innovation.
- The Power of a Smooth Go-Live: Don’t gamble on your healthcare institution’s go-live: take control of your PACS migration with ENDEX from Enlitic. Discover how ENDEX uses AI to standardize, normalize, and cleanse your imaging metadata before migration.
- MRI Solutions for Claustrophobic Patients: Neurological Associates of Long Island had an Alzheimer’s patient who was unable to tolerate MRI due to severe claustrophobia. Read how she completed the scan calmly and without movement thanks to Fujifilm’s Echelon Synergy 1.5T MRI system.
- Wish You Could See Into Your Reporting Future? Don’t learn change management the hard way. On July 21, learn from Yale, Emory, and RAF as they share their secrets to successfully transitioning their reporting infrastructure with Rad AI. Register now.
- Therapy + Diagnostics = Renewed Hope: Theranostics is experiencing an exponential and global expansion as radioligand therapies give hope when other strategies have failed. Learn more about theranostics on this page from GE HealthCare.
- Still Managing Multiple Imaging Silos? Consolidate imaging access and simplify clinical workflows with Mach7 enterprise imaging solutions. Modernize your imaging with Mach7 Technologies.
- 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.
- 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.
- Leadership in Life Sciences: Quibim is committed to accelerating its development within the life sciences sector and strengthening collaborations with leading pharmaceutical companies. Learn about recent leadership developments that are moving the company forward.
- The World’s Happiest Customers – 13 Straight Years: Sectra continues to top the charts when it comes to customer satisfaction. The company recently won seven Best in KLAS awards, including the 13th straight for its Sectra PACS enterprise imaging solution. Find out why on this page.
- Imaging Tools for Heroes: Radiology departments are currently pushed to their limits by interconnected challenges. Staff shortages and heavy workloads form a vicious circle. Different measures are needed to address these challenges. Intelligent imaging from Siemens Healthineers can be one of them.
- From Image Exchange to Enterprise Interoperability: Easily share, access, and exchange any medical image with solutions from Medicom. Deliver critical studies directly into the EHR to ease clinician burden, simplify your tech stack, and unlock the research potential hidden in clinical imaging data.
- Tackling Radiology’s Capacity Issue: Healthcare providers are under pressure from rising costs, care delays, and growing cybersecurity risks. Watch this video to discover how Mosaic Clinical Technologies delivers a future-ready imaging solution that improves continuity of care and accelerates detection for faster, more appropriate interventions.
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