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CCTA Reveals Silent Plaque, Cardiac Imaging, and BMD Patent Lawsuit
November 2, 2026
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Together with
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“Healthcare is the only industry that drops your cancer scan results into an app at 11 PM on a Friday, then closes for the weekend. No call. No context. Just a PDF full of words like ‘suspicious’ and ‘cannot be excluded’ and a little banner that says ‘Sleep well!’ Meanwhile billing found me in 4 hours.”
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Angel investor and stage 4 cancer patient Kevin Wimer.
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Now that AI is being adopted more widely, who can show it can pay for itself? When it comes to MRI image enhancement, accelerating scans across manufacturers and generations can create usable capacity without buying a new scanner – helping imaging facilities address rising imaging volumes and creating a foundation for wider AI adoption. Find out how to do it in this contribution from AIRS Medical. – Brian Casey, Managing Editor
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Coronary CT angiography with dedicated plaque analysis software found that former NFL players have high levels of silent plaque in their arteries but no symptoms of heart disease. That’s according to research to be presented at this week’s AHA 2026, underscoring the value of CCTA in detecting early signs of coronary artery disease.
Recent research has shown that CCTA can be used for working up patients with symptoms of heart disease.
- But more tantalizing is the modality’s potential to predict who is at risk of coronary events due to issues like plaque buildup in their coronary arteries – before symptoms ever occur.
This has spurred the growth of AI solutions for analyzing CCTA scans to not only detect and quantify the presence of plaque, but also to analyze plaque components to determine if it’s at risk of rupture.
- One such solution is Heartflow Plaque Analysis, which converts CCTA scans into color-coded 3D models of a patient’s coronary anatomy, calculating metrics like total plaque volume and plaque composition.
In the new research, Heartflow Plaque Analysis was used on CCTA scans acquired from 200 retired NFL players enrolled in GAMEFILM, a longitudinal study tracking heart health in former professional athletes. The scans revealed…
- Coronary plaque was present in 85% of former NFL players, but only 13% had a known CAD diagnosis prior to scans.
- 42% had a blockage in at least one of their arteries of 50% or greater, indicating advanced CAD.
- 29% had plaque substantial enough to restrict cardiac blood flow, but less than 10% reported symptoms.
- Almost 90% of the plaque detected was noncalcified, which can have higher disease risk and isn’t detected by coronary artery calcium scores.
- One-third had coronary plaque, putting them in the “severe” or “extensive” category of total plaque volume as calculated by the software.
On the positive side, seeing their plaque results motivated the former players to take action, with almost 90% of those who weren’t already on cholesterol-lowering medications saying they were ready to start treatment.
The Takeaway
Most imaging facilities aren’t going to have former NFL players walk through their doors very often. But the new study highlights the very real risk of coronary plaque for everyone, regardless of whether they ever played professional sports. It’s also a big boost for Heartflow, which is highlighting several important studies at this week’s AHA 2026 (see also The Wire section of this newsletter).
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AI Echo Reduces Reporting Time
AI-assisted reporting of echocardiography exams reduced preliminary reporting time by nearly 7 minutes per case. Read the study to find out how Us2.ai can help you speed up reporting turnaround times.
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Meet Merge at RSNA 2026
Join Merge at RSNA 2026 Booth #8113 to be among the first to see their innovative new approach to cloud-native enterprise imaging and AI-powered workflow orchestration in action – and how these offerings are tailormade to meet your evolving needs.
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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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- CCTA vs. IVUS for PCI Guidance: Coronary CT angiography could be used instead of intravascular ultrasound for guiding percutaneous coronary interventions. In the P4 study published in NEJM and to be presented at AHA 2026, researchers evaluated 1.1k patients, finding CCTA aided by Heartflow PCI Navigator to be noninferior to IVUS, with similar rates of target-vessel failure at 12 months among patients who got either CCTA or IVUS (4.1% vs. 4.6%). CCTA has workflow advantages because treatment decisions can be shifted upstream, from the cardiac cath lab to the less-invasive CT suite.
- Early Calcium Scores Carry a Long Shadow: We don’t often think of younger adults when we think of coronary artery calcium scores, but those who do have high CAC scores might face elevated long-term cardiac risk. A JAMA Cardiology study followed 12.8k young adults (ages 30-45) for 22 years on average and found that those with CAC scores above the 90th percentile faced significantly higher all-cause (HR = 1.87), cardiovascular (HR = 2.60), and coronary heart disease mortality risk (HR = 3.71).
- Radiology AI’s ROI Problem: Radiology has spent years asking whether AI works. It now has a harder question: who can prove it pays? When it comes to MRI image enhancement, accelerating scans across manufacturers and generations can create usable capacity without buying a new scanner – helping imaging facilities address rising imaging volumes and creating a foundation for wider adoption of AI thanks to more consistent images across imaging networks. Find out how to do it in this contribution from AIRS Medical.
- Bone Density Screening Added to LDCT Scans: A new study in Radiology shows that bone density analysis can be added to low-dose CT lung cancer screening to offer two-for-one opportunistic screening. Researchers used Bonescreen’s automated SpineQ software to analyze LDCT scans from the NLST study and calculate volumetric bone mineral density (vBMD). Vertebral fracture incidence was 5.9% over two years for those with osteoporosis (the threshold for treatment is 5%), and men with osteoporotic vBMD had 24% higher adjusted hazard of all-cause mortality at seven years.
- HeartLung Sues SimonMed Over Opportunistic BMD: A collapsed business relationship over opportunistic BMD screening has devolved into litigation. HeartLung Technologies and SimonMed Imaging first partnered in 2025, with HeartLung providing its AutoBMD technology to SimonMed to detect osteoporosis opportunistically by calculating BMD from existing CT scans. But the relationship fell apart a few months later, and HeartLung is now suing SimonMed for patent infringement, claiming the imaging chain is offering CT-based bone density analysis that allegedly infringes AutoBMD patents.
- Shadowfax to Show Full-Stack Radiology Suite: A new entrant is about to enter the market for full-stack radiology software. After exhibiting in the New Exhibitor Pavilion at RSNA 2025, Shadowfax is moving to the main exhibit hall at RSNA 2026 to show off its full suite of radiology applications, including viewer, reporting, worklist, and data analytics. The company was founded by former executives from Nines (acquired by Sirona in 2022), and includes practicing radiologists frustrated with software options currently available. Shadowfax is awaiting FDA clearance for its PACS software.
- Agfa’s Alabama Cloud Contract: Agfa HealthCare’s enterprise imaging solution is headed down south thanks to a new contract with Infirmary Health, Alabama’s largest not-for-profit, non-governmental healthcare provider. Agfa Enterprise Imaging Cloud will integrate into the health system’s Epic EMR software to bring together diagnostic imaging, workflow orchestration, and vendor-neutral image management into one platform. The initial focus of the deployment will be on streamlining communication and coordination across mammography and radiology departments at Infirmary Health’s 70+ sites.
- Bundy Changes Role at United Imaging: Jeffrey Bundy, PhD, president of United Imaging Healthcare North America, will be taking on a new role at the company effective January 2027, stepping down as president and joining the company’s board. Bundy led United Imaging’s U.S. operations since the business launched in 2018, and was the company’s first U.S. commercial employee. United Imaging plans to announce a new president “in the near future.”
- United Preps Zero-Helium MRI Scanner: In other United Imaging news, the company revealed that it’s planning the commercial launch of a 1.5T zero-liquid-helium MRI scanner called uMR Prema. Interest in zero-helium scanners has grown due to their lower siting and operating costs, and the ongoing global shortage of helium has only added to their appeal. United also said it received CE certification for uPMR Zenith, a PET/MRI scanner it will launch in Europe.
- Who’s Getting Radiology Research Funding? The answer appears to be the institutions with the most clinician investigators, according to a new JACR study. Data from 437 unique NIH-funded radiology researchers showed that the top five institutions nabbed 38% of the total $1.65B funding awarded from 2012–2025. In diagnostic radiology, Stanford beat out 46 other institutions to earn the most money ($134.9M). Still, combined subspecialty data showed that 82% of the variance in funding was explained by how many investigators an institution employed.
- Maryland Health System Goes Live with Sectra: A Maryland health system has gone live with Sectra One Cloud, Sectra’s cloud-based enterprise image management software. Meritus Health is initially using the solution’s radiology module to deliver imaging services to 200k residents across western Maryland and parts of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Meritus expects to manage 257k radiology exams a year over the five-year contract.
- HOPPR Releases VLM for X-Ray Reports: AI foundation model developer HOPPR launched a new vision language model that generates draft reports from musculoskeletal radiographs. Called HOPPR FS MSK Whole-Body Narrative Model, the VLM processes up to three X-ray views per study and can be used by companies developing radiology reporting and image-based workflow applications.
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The Right Data, Ready When You Are
Kailo Medical will be at RSNA 2026 at Booth #5141 in the South Hall with four demo stations and a private room for team sessions. Request a time now to confirm a slot that fits your week in Chicago.
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Experience Imaging as One
At RSNA 2026, experience one unified enterprise imaging platform from AGFA HealthCare, bringing together workflow orchestration, streaming, cloud, AI, and interoperability. Book a meeting or visit them at Booth #2119.
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United Imaging at RSNA 2026
At RSNA 2026, United Imaging will be featuring new technology in all modalities. You’ll be able to see the latest and greatest, review images, and meet leadership. Visit them at Booth #1932 to learn how their Passion for Change makes a difference.
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- Heading to RSNA 2026? See how Scanslated’s solution – powered by real clinical expertise, not AI – turns confusing radiology reports into patient-friendly explanations, cutting through the misinformation and anxiety patients face interpreting reports alone. Schedule a virtual demo or book a time to stop by Booth #2809.
- A New Resource for Radiology Jobs: Check out the new Job Boards from Medality to gain access to newly posted positions for radiologists, residents, and fellows. If you’re an employer, post your first job for no charge to reach Medality’s network of over 40,000 monthly users.
- A New Standard of AI-Powered Care: Unify for your imaging experience with AI-powered solutions from DeepHealth. Book a demo today to discover the latest in integrated, cloud-native imaging and operations, or visit them at Booth #1329.
- Connectivity Solutions at RSNA 2026: Visit Altamont Software at RSNA 2026 to learn more about their full portfolio of connectivity solutions, from Passport SR for capturing DICOM Structured Report measurements to eForms for eliminating paper-based workflow. Book a meeting today or stop by at Booth #7808.
- New Innovations in CT: At RSNA 2026, Philips will showcase a new CT portfolio that uses AI, automation, and advanced imaging to help teams reduce manual steps, accelerate workflows, and move from scan to decision faster. Join them at RSNA 2026 at Booth #6730.
- Experience What Matters Most: Visit GE HealthCare at RSNA 2026 to explore innovations across imaging, AI, software, services, and pharmaceutical diagnostics. Connect with experts, experience demonstrations, and discover new technologies by requesting a meeting today, or visit Booth #7330.
- See the Future of Radiology Reporting at RSNA: Discover how Rad AI combines cloud-native speech recognition and generative AI to transform radiology reporting. Book a meeting.
- Centered on Innovation. Shaped by Experience: Visit Fujifilm at RSNA 2026 to see how their advanced solutions built on over 90 years of medical imaging experience can help meet your imaging needs. Book a meeting or stop by at Booth #4100.
- Data that’s Correct, Complete, and Consistent: ENDEX from Enlitic standardizes your DICOM imaging data with AI precision, so every study is labeled right and ready to use. Learn how it can benefit your radiology practice today.
- At the Center of Care at RSNA 2026: Imaging is at the center of countless clinical decisions. At RSNA 2026, explore how Intelerad is helping healthcare organizations connect imaging across the enterprise to support more efficient workflows, greater capacity, and better clinical decision-making. Schedule a meeting today.
- End-to-End Prostate Workflow Management: Find out how Quibim’s QP-Prostate provides a comprehensive, end-to-end management workflow for prostate cancer care, supporting clinicians from the earliest stages of image acquisition through diagnosis, patient management, and follow-up.
- 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.
- Your RSNA Starts Here: Whether you’re visiting RSNA 2026 to solve a specific challenge or to explore what’s possible, Sectra’s team will be there for you. Book a demo to discover how their enterprise imaging SaaS solutions – including radiology reporting – can meet your imaging needs.
- The Right Prior, The Right Chart: Medicom’s platform improves radiology workflow by finding outside imaging, matching it to the correct patient record, and delivering it into the chart automatically. Learn how Medicom can benefit you by visiting them at RSNA 2026, Booths #4165 and #4360.
- See Mosaic Reporting live at RSNA 2026: Mosaic Reporting uses ambient AI and large language models to help radiologists create structured reports faster, alongside your existing PACS. Visit Booth #5304 in the South Hall AI Showcase or book a private demo on the Mosaic RSNA Event Hub.
- A Better Worklist Optimizes Cases. SWO Optimizes the Practice: By simultaneously addressing multiple operational parameters and objectives, SWO transforms radiology operations – improving performance across throughput, turnaround time, workload equity, capacity, radiologist experience, and more.
- Experience the Platform For The Future at RSNA: Visage is not only leading imaging’s move to the cloud, they’ve defined it. Book at priority demo with them at RSNA 2026 or visit Booth #4329 to experience the platform for the future – powered by speed.
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