Aidoc has obtained a European Union CE mark for its AI solution that flags incidental pulmonary embolism (iPE) in contrast-enhanced CT.

Flagging incidental critical findings is technically challenging due to the varied imaging protocols used and lower incidences of such cases. The ability to prioritise incidental critical conditions accurately is a breakthrough in the value AI can bring to the radiologists’ workflow. 

Dr. Gustavo Meirelles, medical manager of radiology, strategy and innovation, Grupo Fleury, said: “One of our oncologic patient’s lives was saved thanks to Aidoc. The patient underwent a routine chest CT with IV contrast that would only be read in the next couple of days. Aidoc set a priority and there was an incidental PE. We spoke with the clinician and the patient immediately and triaged her to the hospital to be treated - from days to minutes!”

It is estimated that pulmonary embolism is the second-most common cause of death in cancer patients, for which the vast majority of all fatalities are only found after death. Early diagnosis and treatment significantly improve outcomes and saves lives. Aidoc’s CE-marked solution flags incidental PEs in contrast-enhanced CT scans, regardless of whether the scan was elective or emergent, reducing time to treatment for these patients from hours to minutes. 

Michael Braginsky, Aidoc’s CTO, said: “There is a good reason that most AI triage solutions don’t focus on incidental findings. Because the prevalence of incidental findings is so low, the specificity of the AI has to be especially high, otherwise the false positive ratio will be too high and user adoption will be negatively impacted. In addition, an incidental PE algorithm detects PE in non-dedicated exams, with lower exam suitability which challenges the AI even further. It was a technological breakthrough that our team achieved that made the release of this product possible.”