Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a crucial component of healthcare to help augment physicians and make them more efficient. In medical imaging, it is helping radiologists more efficiently manage PACS worklists, enable structured reporting, auto detect injuries and diseases, and to pull in relevant prior exams and patient data. In cardiology, AI is helping automate tasks and measurements on imaging and in reporting systems, guides novice echo users to improve imaging and accuracy, and can risk stratify patients. AI includes deep learning algorithms, machine learning, computer-aided detection (CAD) systems, and convolutional neural networks. 

Fat attenuation index (FAI) CT imaging of coronary artery fat can show inflammation and can help pin-point vulnerable plaques, or show the reversal of inflammation due to drug therapies. The technology is being developed by the vendor Caristo, which has European CE mark and the company is seeking FDA clearance. #SCCT #SCCT2022

VIDEO: New Technologies in Cardiac CT Imaging

Ron Blankstein, MD, Brigham and Women's Hospital, explains recent advances in coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) technology. 

Google, NIH converge on Arkansas over medical AI education, advancement

Data scientists and software engineers at the University of Arkansas have been awarded more than $140,000 by the NIH to educate biomedical researchers on the growing role of AI in big-data analytics.

$30K up for grabs in new AI challenge from RSNA

Americans suffer more than 1 million fractured vertebrae every year. RSNA’s latest AI competition may help advance precision detection and classification of this unfortunately common source of pain and potential debilitation.

Noteworthy FDA approvals of the week: Ceiling-mounted CT angiography, AI for brain-adjacent bleeds

Two companies serving medical imagers just had products cleared for marketing in the U.S.

AI cardiology Cleerly soft plaque assessments

Cardiology startup raises $192M for AI-powered imaging assessments

The company has now raised $248M in total to help develop, commercialize and market its FDA-cleared technology. 

Examples of new cardiac CT technologies at the 2022 SCCT meeting. Top left clockwise, realistic 3D rendering inside the heart, the GE Revolution Apex scanner, Cleerly's AI automated soft plaque assessment, and CT strain imaging from Medis. #SCCT #SCCT2022 #YesCCT #CTA #CCTA, new computed tomography technology

PHOTO GALLERY: Cardiac CT advances at SCCT 2022

View a variety of images from the 2022 Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) meeting in Las Vegas.

AI-generated coronary tree from a patient's CT scan showing a color code of areas of interest for plaque burden from the Cleerly software shown at SCCT 2022.

VIDEO: Why plaque composition CT imaging may be the future of cardiology

Former European Society of Cardiology president Prof. Jeroen Bax explains the difficulty in quantifying these plaques manually and how artificial intelligence may change this to allow rapid, detailed quantitative analysis. 

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FDA clears AI assessor of stricken dense brain tissue

An AI startup has received the FDA’s go-ahead to market a new tool within its existing platform that automatically diagnoses stroke and brain injury in hyperdense brain tissue imaged with unenhanced CT.

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The patient, who was being cared for in the ICU, was not accompanied or monitored by nursing staff during his exam, despite being sedated.

The nuclear imaging isotope shortage of molybdenum-99 may be over now that the sidelined reactor is restarting. ASNC's president says PET and new SPECT technologies helped cardiac imaging labs better weather the storm.

CMS has more than doubled the CCTA payment rate from $175 to $357.13. The move, expected to have a significant impact on the utilization of cardiac CT, received immediate praise from imaging specialists.