Bracco Diagnostics Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of Bracco Imaging S.p.A., a leading global company in the diagnostic imaging business, announced the results of an experimental artificial intelligence (AI) study of two gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) which found that ProHance (Gadoteridol) Injection, 279.3 mg/mL and Gadavist provided similar degree and pattern of contrast enhancement in brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of patients with glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) previously enrolled in a large scale, multicenter, randomized, double blinded controlled clinical study (the TRUTH study).1 Full study results will be presented at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Annual Meeting on Wednesday, December 4, in Chicago, IL. GBCAs are widely used imaging agents with a favorable safety profile. While recent research has shown that the gadolinium from these agents may remain in the body for months to years after injection,2 the American College of Radiology and the Food and Drug Administration agree that there are no known adverse clinical consequences associated with gadolinium retention in the brain based on the available data.3,4 Nevertheless, some practitioners have concerns, and questions have been raised over whether using a GBCA that retains less would come with a tradeoff in the effectiveness of the contrast enhancement. The purpose of this study was to use AI to determine the effectiveness of standard concentration ProHance (0.5mmol/ml) compared to double concentration Gadavist (1.0 mmol/ml), since animal studies have shown that Gadavist retains two to seven times more in the brain versus ProHance, at up to 4 weeks after injection5-6.

Today at RSNA, IBM Watson Health is announcing two new products, and showcasing a variety of partnerships and clients that are using our advanced technologies to improve the way radiologists deliver care. We are delighted to announce these collaborations at RSNA highlighting our advancements in medical imaging globally," said Anne Le Grand, General Manager, Imaging, Life Sciences, and Oncology, IBM Watson Health. "From helping clinicians to identify potential missed findings to seeing a summary view of patient records quickly, our innovative technologies are at the forefront of Watson Health's mission to help enable clinicians to more effectively respond to the world's most pressing health challenges." Clinical Review 3.0, a tool recently launched in the UK that analyzes medical imaging studies and their associated reports to identify potentially missed findings, facilitating higher quality and more comprehensive care for the patient. IBM Watson Health Imaging has recently engaged with Fortrus Ltd, to grow upon the reseller's strong relationship with the UK public sector, which includes a single supplier outcome-based Managed Services framework. The Imaging AI Marketplace is a single-source solution designed to help simplify the complex process of locating, purchasing, deploying and managing the vast array of AI imaging applications. The Imaging AI Marketplace is carefully curated and contains only FDA-cleared solutions alongside Watson Health developed AI solutions. Guerbet, a global specialist in contrast agents and solutions for diagnostic and interventional imaging, also recently signed an exclusive joint development agreement to develop an artificial intelligence software solution to support prostate cancer diagnostics and monitoring, utilizing MR imaging. This deal extends their earlier collaboration regarding liver cancer signed in January 2018. In addition, 4ways, a fast-growing private teleradiology network in the UK that enables UK-based radiologists to work remotely over a leading technology platform, has committed to underpin its ambitious growth strategy with IBM Watson Health's Merge PACS 8.0 platform, upgrading its current platform to support their business growth. Merge PACS is a workflow platform that is designed to help simplify physicians' reading activities and can empower IT leaders with advanced control of the flow of studies throughout the enterprise. "We're committed to constantly investing in and upgrading our IT provision to be able to offer our clients and partners the very best service.

AI has the power to search through millions of genetic variants at high speed and identify likely ... [ ] causes of rare diseases, while also comparing what they find with the existing medical literature. This is greater than the population of the United States, yet the ominous figures don't end there. According to the Global Genes organization, eight out of ten rare diseases are caused by a faulty gene, yet it takes an average of 4.8 years to arrive at an accurate diagnosis. This is part of the reason why 30% of children with a rare disease won't live to see their fifth birthday. Neither is this situation helped by the fact that 95% of rare diseases lack an FDA-approved treatment.

Thanks to approvals from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for applications such as primary disease diagnosis, digital pathology is rapidly becoming the new standard of care. However, this advancement creates challenges that Artificial Intelligence could help solve. Digital pathology enables capturing pathology information, such as whole slide images (WSI), and working with it digitally using a specialized scanner. Acquiring, studying and managing data in this way allows sharing between parties on a computer or mobile device. According to experts, the global digital pathology market was worth $689.2 million in 2018.

It is hard to think of any area of our lives that might not one day be affected by artificial intelligence, and an exponential rise in recent years has already seen it become increasingly embedded in healthcare. After an early focus on supercharging the way in which new drugs can be discovered, AI is now empowering healthcare improvements in diagnosis and patient care. Across these themes we see many exciting technological advances that are changing our conception of how healthcare is delivered as the capabilities of smartphones and sensors continue to increase and improve. By putting a compact, portable computer in our hands, smartphones have already enabled huge changes in our lives over the last decade or so. Now, as artificial intelligence comes of age, smartphones and other mobile devices are becoming cleverer still.

William Karnes, MD, is director of the high-risk program and colonoscopy quality at the UCI Health H.H. Chao Comprehensive Digestive Disease Center in Orange, Calif., and chief medical officer of Docbot, a technology that uses artificial intelligence to detect abnormalities from colonoscopy capsule video. Here, Dr. Karnes shares his thoughts with Becker's ASC Review on the future of AI in the gastroenterology specialty, and how the technology could help patients and physicians. Question: Can you tell me a little more about the Docbot technology and how you got involved? Dr. William Karnes: The story goes back to 2012 when I came to UCI and Dr. Chan brought me on to wipe out colon cancer in Orange County. It was a three-pronged approach but one of the most important ones.

AI has the power to search through millions of genetic variants at high speed and identify likely ... [ ] causes of rare diseases, while also comparing what they find with the existing medical literature. This is greater than the population of the United States, yet the ominous figures don't end there. According to the Global Genes organization, eight out of ten rare diseases are caused by a faulty gene, yet it takes an average of 4.8 years to arrive at an accurate diagnosis. This is part of the reason why 30% of children with a rare disease won't live to see their fifth birthday. Neither is this situation helped by the fact that 95% of rare diseases lack an FDA-approved treatment.

AI has the power to search through millions of genetic variants at high speed and identify likely ... [ ] causes of rare diseases, while also comparing what they find with the existing medical literature. This is greater than the population of the United States, yet the ominous figures don't end there. According to the Global Genes organization, eight out of ten rare diseases are caused by a faulty gene, yet it takes an average of 4.8 years to arrive at an accurate diagnosis. This is part of the reason why 30% of children with a rare disease won't live to see their fifth birthday. Neither is this situation helped by the fact that 95% of rare diseases lack an FDA-approved treatment.

AI could help health professionals cope with the gigantic quantities of data – Discover why healthcare facilities increasingly realize that AI could help achieve significant impacts with digital pathology. Thanks to approvals from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for applications such as primary disease diagnosis, digital pathology is rapidly becoming the new standard of care. However, this advancement creates challenges that artificial intelligence could help solve. Digital pathology enables capturing pathology information, such as whole slide images (WSI), and working with it digitally using a specialized scanner. Acquiring, studying and managing data in this way allows sharing between parties on a computer or mobile device.

Technology has helped cardiologist Eric Topol save lives. While on an airplane several years ago, a flight attendant asked if there was a doctor on board--a man was suffering from chest pain at 30,000 feet. Topol was able to obtain an electrocardiogram from the man by using a heart activity–reading gadget that attached to his smartphone, made by the medical device company AliveCor. "It turned out to be a big anterior heart attack I could see right on my smartphone," says Topol, director and founder of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in San Diego. "I had to tell the folks to land the plane. He wound up doing pretty well."