RadNet enters ultrasound AI, acquiring imaging vendor See-Mode Technologies

RadNet Inc. is continuing its artificial intelligence buying binge, entering the ultrasound space with the acquisition of vendor See-Mode Technologies.

Founded in 2017, the Melbourne, Australia-based company offers software that analyzes breast and thyroid images, “producing fast and accurate radiology reports.” RadNet said it has already deployed See-Mode’s U.S. Food and Drug Administration-cleared thyroid solution across a portion of its 400 outpatient centers, demonstrating a 30% reduction in scan times due to increased workflow efficiency. 

The Los Angeles-based imaging center operator sees great potential, given the size of the addressable ultrasound market. RadNet already has completed the acquisition, which comes less than two months after it announced plans to buy breast imaging AI vendor iCAD for $103 million. 

“Thyroid cancer is one of the fastest growing cancer diagnoses worldwide and, alongside breast cancer, is among the most common cancers affecting women,” CEO Howard Berger, MD, said in a statement June 4. “In the U.S. alone, approximately 20 million ultrasound exams are performed annually for thyroid and breast combined. With ultrasound imaging inherently complex and user and radiologist dependent, the opportunity to improve care through AI is significant.”

See-Mode scored U.S. FDA clearance in 2020 for software that automates analysis and reporting of vascular ultrasound scans and raised $7 million in funding the same year. The company additionally earned the agency’s blessing last year for a product that detects and classifies thyroid nodules. RadNet said it plans to integrate these products and more into its DeepHealth portfolio of population health products. Currently, demand exceeds available appointment slots for RadNet’s over 900 ultrasound units. Berger and colleagues said they hope AI can increase capacity, improving “our ability to drive better access and more revenue.” 

“Furthermore, there is already a reimbursement code that makes a portion of our approximately 250,000 annual thyroid ultrasounds eligible for additional reimbursement,” Berger said in the announcement. “We aim to expand these efficiencies to breast screening and other clinical areas in our more than 2 million annual ultrasound studies. These opportunities will also be sold and marketed by DeepHealth to third parties as we further commercialize the offerings.”

RadNet did not disclose terms of the deal on Wednesday though, as a publicly traded company, it will do so in a future regulatory filing. The company first launched its AI division by acquiring Cambridge, Massachusetts-based DeepHealth in 2020 for around $44 million. In the process, it added founder, radiologist and former Siemens Healthcare North America CEO Greg Sorensen, MD, to its team. RadNet later acquired Dutch AI firms Quantib and Aidence in 2022 for a total of nearly $100 million, and it bought U.K.-based Kheiron Medical Technologies for $1 million last year. At the time of the initial DeepHealth AI acquisition, leaders emphasized their desire to improve radiologists’ efficiency and accuracy while materially benefiting shareholders. 

See-Mode was co-founded by scientists Milad Mohammadzadeh, PhD, and Sadaf Monajemi, PhD, who studied engineering in Singapore and are based in Australia, according to their LinkedIn profiles. The company lists about a dozen employees on its website, with a headquarters in Melbourne. RadNet did not discuss how the merger may impact head counts. 

“Ultrasound is complex, time-consuming, and high-volume—exactly where AI can make a difference,” Mohammadzadeh said in the announcement. “By joining RadNet and DeepHealth’s combined access to real-world clinical data and expertise at an unprecedented scale, we have an extraordinary platform to build the future of ultrasound.”