Medical Imaging

Physicians utilize medical imaging to see inside the body to diagnose and treat patients. This includes computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), X-ray, ultrasound, fluoroscopy, angiography,  and the nuclear imaging modalities of PET and SPECT. 

Manisha Bahl, MD, breast imaging division quality director and breast imaging division co-service chief, Massachusetts General Hospital, and an associate professor of radiology, Harvard Medical School, explains the findings of a recent study she was involved in at RSNA 2024. She also offers insights into growing interest at sessions in using AI in breast imaging.

What radiologists think about using ChatGPT and AI in breast imaging

Manisha Bahl, MD, explained that ChatGPT and other large language models offer significant potential to help radiologists with breast imaging exams, but they are "not quite ready for primetime."

Jason Poff, MD, director of innovation deployment for artificial intelligence (AI) at RadPartners, explains the five-step process he uses to evaluate medical imaging AI.

5 steps for evaluating radiology AI applications

Jason Poff, MD, director of innovation deployment for artificial intelligence at Radiology Partners, explains the process he uses to evaluate medical imaging AI. 
 

Video of James Min, MD, explaining the future of cardiac care using CT and AI plaque analysis to create a personalized and more accurate cardiac risk assessment, similar to a mammogram for the heart.

Embracing the future: James Min left academia to push for a paradigm shift in preventive cardiology

James Min, MD, Cleerly's founder and CEO, changed careers to address what he saw as a major unmet need in cardiology.

Deep learning reconstruction improves breast MRI quality

Deep learning reconstruction cuts breast MRI scan times in half

The use of DLR also provides greater flexibility with protocols in comparison to conventional single-shot echo-planar imaging.

RSNA attendees through bore of the new release Philips CT 5300 scanner at RSNA 2024. Three new CT systems were released at RSNA that included numerous AI enhancements. Photo by Dave Fornell. #RSNA #RSNA24 #RSNA2024

Key takeaways from RSNA 2024 for AI, CT, MRI and the radiology staffing shortage

Several key trends were evident at the Radiological Society of North America 2024 meeting, including new CT and MR technology and evolving adoption of artificial intelligence.

HeartLung Technologies, a Houston-based artificial intelligence (AI) company, has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for new software that assesses chest CT scans for signs of coronary artery disease (CAD) and other potentially fatal heart conditions. The newly cleared offering, AutoChamber, was designed with opportunistic heart evaluations in mind.

FDA clears AI tool that flags signs of heart disease in chest CT scans

The newly cleared offering, AutoChamber, was designed with opportunistic screening in mind. It can evaluate many different kinds of CT images, including those originally gathered to screen patients for lung cancer. 

HeartFlow Plaque Analysis Example

New Category I CPT code issued for AI-enabled coronary plaque analysis software

The news comes just days after CMS confirmed these technologies would start receiving expanded Medicare coverage in November. HeartFlow and other AI vendors have already shared their excitement over the decision. 

The iCardio.ai EchoMeasure AI software to automate measurements for cardiac echo imaging. It was FDA cleared in October 2024.

FDA approves AI startup’s new software for echo assessments

iCardio.ai, co-founded by a cardiologist, is part of the Cedars-Sinai Accelerator program. The startup has already announced new partnerships with Viz.ai, Abbott and others in the cardiac health space. 

Around the web

U.S. health systems are increasingly leveraging digital health to conduct their operations, but how health systems are using digital health in their strategies can vary widely.

When human counselors are unavailable to provide work-based wellness coaching, robots can substitute—as long as the workers are comfortable with emerging technologies and the machines aren’t overly humanlike.

A vendor that supplies EHR software to public health agencies is partnering with a health-tech startup in the cloud-communications space to equip state and local governments for managing their response to the COVID-19 crisis.