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CT Radiation Dose Drops, Hidden Salary Data, and Breast Density Laws
July 30, 2026
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Together with
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“If you are losing candidates you expected to win, this data suggests checking the cheap explanation first: your number may be competitive and simply invisible. Roughly half the market writes ‘competitive compensation’ where a figure should be, and a candidate comparing four postings will filter on the two that gave them something to compare.”
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A new report on radiologist salary transparency by RadBoard.io.
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Due to an acute shortage of radiologists, imaging providers are prioritizing efficiency to maximize the time clinicians spend on patient cases. We talked to RamSoft CEO Vijay Ramanathan and Expert Radiology COO Cristian Lorenzo about imaging IT solutions that enable radiologists to create reports as quickly as possible.
Meanwhile, The Odyssey is packing cinemagoers into movie theaters around the world. Can you find the Homeric reference in this week’s edition of The Imaging Wire? Take a look and let us know! – Brian Casey, Managing Editor
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Some good news arrived this week in the campaign to reduce CT radiation dose. A new nationwide survey in Radiology found that radiation dose from CT scans has fallen markedly over the past decade in the U.S.
CT has been radiology’s workhorse modality since the 1980s thanks to its winning combination of cost-effectiveness and diagnostic power.
- But radiation dose has always been the modality’s Achilles heel. That was highlighted by a controversial 2025 paper claiming that routine CT could cause over 100k cancers in a year in the U.S.
There are plenty of technologies that effectively reduce CT radiation dose, but the trick has always been getting clinicians to use them.
- Another problem is standardizing best-practice CT protocols, so there’s less variation in radiation dose between CT scanners in the same health system or institution. The key to standardization is establishing best-practice benchmarks.
A landmark study published almost 10 years ago got the ball rolling by tracking radiation dose in 2014, producing key metrics like diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) and achievable doses (AD) for 1.3M exams at 583 U.S. CT sites.
- DRLs represent the 75th percentile of dose distribution, while ADs are set at the 50th percentile, and both numbers represent targets for dose optimization efforts that are dynamic and can change over time.
In the current study, researchers updated the radiation knowledge base with new data from 5.2M CT exams at 592 U.S. facilities, a 4X larger sample than in 2014, finding…
- Overall radiation dose fell by 22% as measured by volume CT dose index (CTDIvol) and by 20% using dose-length product, another common radiation measure.
- The largest dose reductions came in chest CT with contrast (-31%) and chest CT without contrast (-27%), while head CT without contrast fell 3.5%.
- New levels of achievable dose benchmarks were set for a variety of CT exams, giving CT facilities new targets for radiation dose reduction that are in some cases as much as 19% lower than 2014 targets.
The Takeaway
The new findings on CT radiation dose reduction are a welcome counter to recent studies that have whipped up hysteria around medical radiation. But now is no time to take the foot off the pedal – radiology must continue to drive dose lower through a combination of new technologies and judicious protocol standardization.
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Would You Trust a Chatbot to Educate Your Patients?
Scanslated provides patient education powered by real human intelligence – not AI. Scanslated’s interactive reports use unique, patient-centered explanations written by board-certified physicians specifically for a patient audience. Learn how Scanslated can benefit your patients today.
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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.
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Scaling Innovation in Radiology
In this episode of Medality’s The Radiology Report Podcast, host Daniel Arnold sat down with Subtle Medical CEO Ohad Arazi to discuss evolution of radiology AI and why improving image acquisition is an impactful way to improve patient care.
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- Employers Hide Salary Data: Only 50% of help-wanted ads for radiologists included salary data – with locums employers and academic sites the worst offenders. That’s according to a new analysis by Radboard.io of 5.4k active U.S. radiologist job postings. Jobs at companies backed by private equity firms actually were the most transparent, with an 85% salary disclosure rate, followed by government jobs at 78%. Bringing up the rear were academic centers (32%) and staffing/locums firms (26%).
- Breast Density Laws Boost Imaging: States that implemented breast density notification laws for women getting mammograms have seen greater use of supplemental imaging. In a new study in JAMA Network Open covering 12.6M women from 2008 to 2019, women in states with notification laws had 9% higher odds of getting supplemental ultrasound or MRI (OR = 1.09). States that also mandated insurance coverage saw odds jump even higher (OR = 1.88), highlighting the strong connection between reimbursement and imaging uptake.
- Conversion Factor Cuts Cap Access: Medicare conversion factor cuts aren’t just affecting physician reimbursement – they’re also limiting patient access. Researchers from the ACR’s Neiman HPI documented a 48% decline in the conversion factor over the past two decades after adjusting for inflation, totaling $30.17 from 2005 to 2023 (from $62.51 to $32.35 in 2025 dollars). Every $1 decline in the conversion factor led to a widening gap in access to care between urban and rural areas, as well as between low- and high-income neighborhoods.
- FDA Gives Go-Ahead to Caristo Software: Caristo Diagnostics received FDA de novo marketing authorization for CaRi-Heart, which quantifies coronary inflammation from routine coronary CT angiography scans. CaRi-Heart analyzes CCTA images to quantify inflammation-related changes in the fat surrounding the coronary arteries, producing a fat attenuation index score (FAI-Score) as well as a CaRi-Heart Risk score that estimates a patient’s mortality risk over the next 10 years. The application follows Caristo’s CaRi-Plaque solution, cleared in February 2025.
- Closer CT Improves ED Stroke Care: The simple act of siting a CT scanner closer to the emergency department drove a sharp improvement in stroke care metrics in a new study in Clinical Imaging. Researchers installed the scanner on the first floor, whereas previously the ED referred patients to a second-floor scanner. Of the 522 patients studied, page-to-CT-image-interpretation time fell 17% (from 23 to 19 minutes) while door-to-CT-interpretation time dropped 16% (from 31 to 26 minutes). Metrics also fell for code stroke activations.
- Low CT Lung Screening Awareness: Only one-third of Americans are aware that CT lung cancer screening is available for U.S. adults who meet eligibility criteria. The results come from the American Lung Association’s annual update on lung health, in which 4k adults were surveyed. In other findings, only 28% knew that lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. The findings illustrate that greater public awareness is needed of the risks of lung cancer and the availability of screening.
- Early Diagnosis Cuts Cancer Costs: Catching cancer early isn’t just better for patients, it also saves money for health systems. A JNCI study found late-stage care was 2.7X and 17X more expensive than initial and ongoing treatment, respectively. Drug costs start at $700 for the first year of early-stage breast cancer treatment and jump to $25k for treating advanced-stage disease. Fixing disparities in screening and improving utilization could help lower the $200B annual spending on cancer care and increase financial sustainability.
- More Medicaid = More Equitable Care: The Affordable Care Act significantly extended Medicaid eligibility, but not all states adopted the policy. A JAMA Network Open study showed that expansion states saw insurance coverage increase by 5.1 percentage points after about five years, nearly double the rate of the states that didn’t. Expansion was also linked to earlier diagnoses of lung cancer (1.8 pp) and 3-year survival rates (1.9 pp). Perhaps most importantly, these improvements were especially pronounced in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities.
- Wellumio Closes $9.8M Funding Round: Dedicated brain MRI developer Wellumio closed a $9.8M pre-Series A funding round to help the company commercialize its point-of-care stroke detection technology. Earlier this year, the company reported that the round had reached $7.8M. Wellumio is developing the Axana 0.1T MRI scanner, which can be moved to the patient’s bedside to enable earlier stroke detection. The funding will be used to expand Wellumio’s team, advance clinical and product development, and support clinical evaluation sites.
- Curium Closes In On Lantheus Buy: Radiopharmaceutical producer Curium is rumored to be closing in on an acquisition of Lantheus in a tie-up that’s reportedly been in the works since May. Bloomberg this week reported that the companies had agreed on a transaction that valued Lantheus at $7B. Lantheus has been focusing on PET radiopharmaceuticals since selling its SPECT business to SHINE earlier this year.
- Siemens Signs $87M Pact with Vanderbilt: Siemens Healthineers signed an $87M value partnership with Vanderbilt Health that includes diagnostic imaging and radiation oncology equipment, as well as workforce development programs in the Nashville area. The partnership covers CT, MRI, molecular imaging, and interventional radiology equipment at multiple Vanderbilt locations.
- SwiftMR Gets New FDA Clearance: AIRS Medical received FDA clearance for an updated version of its flagship SwiftMR software for AI-based MR image reconstruction. The newly cleared version includes functionality called Auto Cut MIP for processing MR angiography brain studies by automating tasks involved in producing maximum intensity projection (MIP) views, like vessel segmentation for standard and vessel-focused MIP views. Auto Cut MIP gives MR technologists complete, consistently labeled reconstructions that are routed directly to PACS.
- SimonMed Debuts CV Longevity Program: Imaging center operator SimonMed continues to expand in the longevity medicine space. The company this week launched Cardiovascular Longevity, a preventive cardiovascular health program that combines AI-powered coronary plaque analysis from coronary CT angiography scans with data from blood biomarker studies to detect and predict cardiovascular disease before symptoms occur. SimonMed earlier this year rebranded its whole-body MRI screening service as SimonMed Longevity.
- Czechs Offer Prostate Screening Blueprint: As health officials debate broader prostate cancer screening programs, they might want to read a new paper by Czech researchers who describe their country’s pilot nationwide screening program. Launched in January 2024, the program screened 146k men with PSA tests in the first 12 months. In all, 8.8% of men had PSA levels ≥ 3.0 ng/mL, and 67% of them had further urological evaluation within six months. Pre-biopsy MRI use grew 10 percentage points (from 28% to 38%).
- Carebot Raises Funds, Debuts Mammo AI: Czech AI developer Carebot raised $1.7M while introducing a new AI solution for mammography. Carebot already has CE marks for AI applications in its Horizon portfolio to detect fractures on X-rays and abnormalities on chest X-ray exams, and the company announced it has entered the mammography AI segment with Carebot AI MMG. The new application highlights suspicious findings on mammograms, serving as an independent second reader while also assessing the technical quality of mammograms.
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Elevating Breast Cancer Detection
Breast Suite from DeepHealth is a new package of AI-powered solutions delivering increased breast cancer detection rates, risk stratification tools, and viewing and reporting workflow acceleration. Find out how it can benefit your practice today.
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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.
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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.
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- The Enterprise Imaging Operating System: Mach7 helps healthcare organizations unify imaging workflows, connect systems, and support long-term interoperability. Discover more.
- Shifting the Stage in Lung Cancer Screening: Watch this video from Riverain Technologies to learn how their ClearRead CT solution for lung cancer screening can drive enrollment, earlier detection, and seamless management of incidental findings.
- A Best in KLAS Hat Trick: AGFA HealthCare was named Best in KLAS in three enterprise imaging segments this year: PACS under 300k studies, universal viewer, and vendor-neutral archive. Find out what makes customers keep coming back on this page.
- Power at the Point of Care: The uDR 380i Pro from United Imaging is a high-performing and agile mobile X-ray system with an ultra-narrow body design, a high-voltage generator, and the uVision Remote Console that redefines the workflow for point of care imaging.
- 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.
- AI Echo in Community Heart Failure Screening: Breathlessness affects 10% of the adult population and can be a symptom of heart failure. Learn how a community-based program in the U.K. is using AI-assisted echocardiography from Us2.ai to achieve guideline-directed diagnostic quality in a community setting.
- New-Generation Platform for Managing Multi-Omics Data: QP-Insights from Quibim is a new-generation advanced platform for the management, storage, and analysis of large-scale multi-omics data and medical images for clinical studies and research projects. Learn more on this page.
- Five Years Into the Cloud – And Just Getting Started: John Muir Health in California needed help dealing with its data deluge, which became acute with the adoption of 3D breast tomosynthesis. Find out how they turned to Sectra and their cloud-based enterprise imaging management for a solution.
- Lower Doses, Higher Quality: What if you could reduce radiation exposure without compromising accuracy in MSK imaging? Discover a system from Siemens Healthineers that supports dose-saving strategies while delivering high-quality images for confident diagnoses and maintaining clinical accuracy.
- 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.
- Purpose-Built for Modern Radiology: MosaicOS from Mosaic Clinical Technologies unites clinical expertise, AI, and advanced workflow tools in one intuitive platform. Find out how it can expand your clinical capacity and speed up turnaround times today.
- Radiology Automation Simplified: CARPL is an enterprise-grade radiology AI validation and deployment platform with 250+ AI applications across 85+ AI vendors that empowers healthcare providers to access, assess, and securely integrate imaging AI in their practice. Book a demo today.
- 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.
- Reporting That Adapts to You: Reporting AI should fit your workflow, not force a new one. Configurable automation, built-in quality checks, and personalized reporting help every radiologist work with greater confidence. Book a demo with Rad AI.
- Next-Generation 1.5T MRI: Echelon Synergy from Fujifilm Healthcare Americas is a powerful and affordable next-generation 1.5T MRI system featuring Synergy DLR deep-learning reconstruction, fast exam times, and patient-friendly design. Discover how it can help you achieve faster workflow and improved image quality.
- 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.
- The Power to Explore Further: The SIGNA Sprint MRI scanner from GE HealthCare combines exceptional power at 1.5T with brilliant intelligence from their deep-learning solutions. Learn how it can help you unlock the full clinical potential of MRI.
- 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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