The FDA has cleared three modules of AI-Rad Companion Chest CT, a software assistant from Siemens Healthineers that is designed to bring artificial intelligence (AI) to computed tomography (CT). Representing the first intelligent assistant of the new AI-Rad Companion platform, AI-Rad Companion Chest CT helps radiologists interpret images of the thorax quickly with desired accuracy and precision, and automatically documents these findings as structured reports.

The algorithms in AI-Rad Companion Chest CT were developed using extensive datasets and annotated by qualified clinical specialists to provide segmentation, measurement, and highlighting of key anatomical structures, to support quantitative and qualitative analysis.

Using CT images of the chest, AI-Rad Companion Chest CT differentiates among various structures in that region—including the lungs, heart, and aorta—aims to highlights them individually, and mark and measure potential abnormalities, such as coronary calcifications. The system supports a variety of tasks, including: automated detection of lesions, localisation of abnormalities, and measurement of lung lesions; quantification of per-lobe low-attenuation parenchyma; enhanced visualisation of lung lesions; automated segmentation of lung lobes and enhanced visualisation of low-attenuation parenchyma; segmentation and measurement of maximum diameters of the thoracic aorta; quantification of the total calcium volume in the coronary arteries; and detection of nine anatomical landmarks as identified by American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines.

Based on the AI-supported analysis, AI-Rad Companion Chest CT automatically generates standardised, reproducible, and quantitative reports in Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) SC format. In addition to reducing time spent on manual results documentation, these reports can be accessed by radiologists on the picture archiving and communication system (PACS) in the clinical routine. AI-Rad Companion Chest CT also highlights potentially clinically relevant changes that might otherwise remain unnoticed because they were not the primary indication for the exam.

David Pacitti, president and head of the Americas at Siemens Healthineers, comments: “AI-Rad Companion Chest CT builds on our decades-long expertise in AI and machine learning, digitalising healthcare and helping providers perform multi-organ image interpretation of the chest with enhanced detection, accuracy, and precision, which can potentially improve outcomes.”