Pulmonary embolism AI cleared

A Silicon Valley AI shop has been OK’d by the FDA to market software that automatically flags suspected pulmonary embolisms (PEs) and immediately notifies physicians.

San Mateo-based RapidAI announced the FDA go-ahead May 24, saying its Rapid PE Triage & Notification product speeds triaging of patients and alerting of care teams, in the process cutting time to treatment.

The newly cleared offering is designed to work with CT pulmonary angiogram (CTPA) images, optimally in conjunction with another RapidAI product, Rapid Workflow for PE.

The announcement quotes interventional cardiologist Jimmy Kerrigan, MD, of Ascension St. Thomas Heart in Tennessee.

Kerrigan suggests the new FDA clearance shows how “artificial intelligence will transform the way we triage and manage pulmonary embolism, a historically complicated process involving a diverse care team … I’m optimistic about its potential to optimize our care for patients and to hopefully improve patient outcomes.”

Find more pulmonary embolism content

Dave Pearson

Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.

Around the web

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.

The all-in-one Omni Legend PET/CT scanner is now being manufactured in a new production facility in Waukesha, Wisconsin.