Industry trade shows and conferences seem to be making their comeback in 2024. And the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) Global Conference and Exhibition seems particularly poised to deliver the best of the best when it comes to digital transformation in both the delivery of healthcare, but also the delivery of a quality experience for those in this demanding, rapidly evolving industry. This month in our ongoing One on One series with industry leaders, we are talking with Hal Wolf, FHIMSS, president and CEO of HIMSS. He offered insights on the society’s new partnership with Informa Markets, key topics being covered at HIMSS24, AI’s impact on the industry, and his thoughts on healthcare sustainability.

Find more HIMSS24 conference coverage here

A New Partnership for Growth

Last August, Informa Markets and HIMSS announced a landmark partnership to propel the growth and evolution of the HIMSS Global Health Conference and Exhibition, recognized as the most influential healthcare technology event of the year, and in North America. It draws 40,000 health professionals, tech leaders, providers and governmental organizations from across the globe. Informa Markets, the world’s largest exhibition organizer, took on management of the HIMSS Exhibition, while HIMSS continues to oversee developing expert content and programming.

Exciting New Features at HIMSS24

At HIMSS2024, with this new collaboration comes new features, including:

• A Digital Health Technology Theme Park, filled with innovations that revolve around AI, workforce and the business of healthcare;
• The Government Connections Plaza, featuring the latest rundown from Washington;
• A reimagined Interoperability Showcase for a deeper dive into the inner workings of healthcare;
• Hot topics will be featured on the exhibition Main Stage; and
• A Hosted Buyer Program, facilitating focused meetings between providers and trusted companies in healthcare technology.

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A discussion on processing, and then understanding, how to implement data workflow and orchestration in medical imaging with Jef Williams, managing partner, Paragon Health IT, and Imaging Technology News (ITN) editorial advisory board member. 

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One on One ... with Curtis P. Langlotz, MD, PhD

Bayer Calantic and Blackford Analysis have teamed up with new artificial intelligence (AI) innovations to address the radiology challenges of today and tomorrow.

Imaging Technology News recently spoke with Thanos Karras, Head of Bayer Digital Solutions Business Americas, and Ben Panter, Founder and CEO of Blackford Analysis, to learn more about this new relationship and their strategy to drive radiology advancements with artificial intelligence.

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Healthcare is constantly evolving, finding new ways to innovate and advance digital tools and technology. With this comes the need for transformation to keep up with these advancements. ITN spoke with Anne Snowdon, RN, PhD, FAAN, professor of strategy entrepreneurship, Odette Business School, University of Windsor, CEO of SCAN Health and Chief Scientific Research Officer, HIMSS Analytics, to find out more about the steps needed for this transformation and what we can expect to see in the future of healthcare.

Dr. Anne Snowdon is a Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the Odette School of Business, University of Windsor.  Currently, Dr. Snowdon is the Chief Scientific Research Officer for HIMSS, Vice Chair of the Board of the Directors for Alberta Innovates, and member of the Health Futures Council of Arizona State University (ASU).  She is an Adjunct Faculty at the Department of Computer Science at the University of Windsor, the School of Nursing at Dalhousie University and the Centre for Innovative Medical Technology (CIMT), at the University of Southern Denmark.  Dr. Snowdon is leading a national Community of Practice to advance supply chain resilience across Canada, she has published more than 150 research articles, papers and cases, has received over $24 million in research funding, holds patents and has commercialized a highly successful booster seat product for children traveling in vehicles and is a Fulbright Scholar. She holds a PhD in Nursing from the University of Michigan, an MSc from McGill University, and BScN from Western University.  

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With the help of artificial intelligence, cutting-edge technology is being developed that will help improve patient outcomes and build efficiencies in healthcare, which will help transform the future of healthcare delivery. ITN sat down with Julius Bogdan, a leading expert in Digital transformation, Data and analytics, and Artificial intelligence and machine learning, to find out more about the inroads AI is making.

Julius is Vice President and General Manager, Digital Health Advisory Team for the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS). In that role, he leads sales, business development, product management, product marketing and advisory services teams across the continent on digital health transformation. He is responsible for the growth of the HIMSS Analytics portfolio adoption, channel strategy, and cultivating relationships across the provider, payer and public sector health landscape. He also serves on the advisory council of various start-ups and early stage firms in finance and healthcare on technology trends, architecture and market analysis.

Find more HIMSS23 content here 

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Philips Radiology Operations Command Center (ROCC) is a vendor-neutral, multi-modality, multi-site telepresence tool that provides advanced tele-acquisition capabilities and connects imaging experts at a Command Center with technologists at scanning locations across an organization.  

Imaging Technology News recently met with Tanuj Gupta, Business Category Leader, Operational Informatics, and Omkar Phanse, Market Leader, Radiology Workflow Solutions, to learn more about this powerful tele-presence tool. 

Find more RSNA22 coverage here

Philips Advances AI-powered Diagnostic Systems and Transformative Workflow Solutions at RSNA 2022

What Lies Ahead in 2023

A discussion on macro trends and the future of medical imaging with Jef Williams, managing partner, Paragon Consulting Partners LLC, and Imaging Technology News (ITN) editorial advisory board member. 

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Artificial intelligence and general consolidation were two top cardiology trends at RSNA22. ITN/DAIC spoke with Val Kapitula, partner, Paragon Consulting Partners LLC, about some of the trends he is seeing emerge in this field. 

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Software automation can help improve many processes, including verifying eligibility for patient exams, navigating the patient responsibility landscape, and meeting the upcoming CDSM mandate for Appropriate Use Criteria. ITN recently spoke with with Kevin Borden, Vice President of Product, HCIT, for Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas about how Konica Minolta is leveraging automation to enhance productivity and efficiency in these areas. 

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Here are two examples of artificial intelligence (AI) driven pulmonary embolism (PE) response team apps featured by vendors Aidoc and Viz.AI at the 2021 Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) 2021 meeting.

The AI scans computed tomography (CT) image datasets as they came off the imaging system and looked for evidence of PE. If detected by the algorithm, it immediately sends an alert to the stroke care team members via smartphone messaging. This is done before the images are even loaded into the PACS. The radiologist on the team can use a link on the app to open the CT dataset and has basic tools for scrolling, windowing and leveling to determine if there is a PE and the severity. The team can then use the app to send messages, access patient information, imaging and reports. This enabled them all to be on the same page and can communicate quickly via mobile devices, rather than being required to use dedicated workstations in the hospital. 

Both vendors showed similar apps for stroke at RSNA 2019. That idea for rapid alerts, diagnosis and communications for acute care teams has now expanded to PE and also for aortic dissection and abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA). AI.Viz and Aidoc are looking at expanding this type of technology for other acute care team rolls, including heart failure response. 

Read more about this technology in the article AI Can Facilitate Automated Activation of Pulmonary Embolism Response Teams.

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Sanjay Parekh, Ph.D., Signify Research senior market analyst, explains some of the recent trends in the application of artificial intelligence (AI) in radiology at the 2021 Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) meeting.

He discusses three trends in AI at RSNA, including:
   • AI-based critical care team tools for rapid communication and assessment of patient imaging. This is activated by an AI first pass review of the images. This includes response team alerts for pulmonary embolism (PE), stroke, aortic dissection and acute heart failure.
   • AI systems now offering numerous algorithms to perform multiple tasks, rather than a single function, adding greater valve for those AI apps.
   • Greater integration of AI apps into PACS so it fits into the radiology workflow.

Find more AI news

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ITN Editor Dave Fornell collected numerous examples of how PACS and enterprise imaging vendors are improving the speed and workflow of their systems during booth demonstrations at the 2021 Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS). The 11 minute video condenses down the highlights of workflow efficiencies seen during two days o vendor booth tours.

There was a clear trend of many vendors moving to new platforms that leverage more modern cloud-platform interfaces. This enables faster study loading speeds over web connections. These platforms are also using deeper integration of third-party applications and artificial intelligence (AI) software that do not require separate logins or workflows. Read more about these key trends observed at HIMSS 2021.

Vendors also showed various ways they have speed up radiology workflows. These included easier to customize hanging protocols, automated fetching of prior exams, synchronizing views and scrolling between a current a prior exams, use of timeline views of patient priors and procedures to make it easier to find relevant images and reports, and integration of all types of images into one unified viewer. 

Specific examples in this video include: 
   • Visage Imaging: Example of high speed cloud PACS access to 3D mammograms and and priors. This first video clip shows a demonstration of opening large datasets in a matter of a couple seconds over a network connection from a tethered cellphone.
   • Visage Imaging: Ability to access multiple modalities on one PACS viewer
   • GE Healthcare: Examples of fast access to priors and location on screen 
   • GE Healthcare: Example of deep integration of third-party AI software
   • Siemens: Overview of its Lung AI Pathway Companion workflow  
   • Change Healthcare: Enabling fast ability to free rotate around lung anatomy rather than going slice by slice manually 
   • Change Healthcare: Color-coded bar shows loading progress of an image or data set
   • Infinitt: Hanging protocol automation to find same view on prior and link for synchronized scrolling   
   • Infinitt: Use of timeline to get quick view of prior reports and images without needing to open whole exam 
   • Siemens: Example of deeper integration with third-party apps, in this case Epsilon strain echo analysis  
   • Fujifilm: Integrated advanced visualization in the radiology workflow for liver segmentation used for surgical or embolization planning 
   • Fujifilm: Example of life-like cinematic rendering of a CT scan offers new ways to view anatomy and explain it to a patient 
   • Visage Imaging: Example of enterprise platform able to bring in full original format advanced visualization reconstructed images on a single platform viewer

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Alex Towbin, M.D., Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center CMIO, Radiology Department associate chief of clinical operations and informatics, and chair of radiology informatics, spoke in an enterprise imaging session at the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) 2021 meeting and highlight the importance of a standardizing body part labeling to enable imaging consumption, image sharing, greater levels of interoperability and image-based artificial intelligence (AI) research. 

He described the process by which existing body part ontologies were evaluated, how the HIMSS-SIIM Enterprise Imaging Community raised awareness of the issues caused by the lack of an industry-standard body-part ontology, and the process by which an industry standard will be selected. Finally, the speakers will discuss how the HIMSS-SIIM Enterprise Imaging Community plans to advocate for the selected ontology to be incorporated as part of existing standards such as DICOM and HL7 FHIR.

In the video he outlines three metadata elements needed to selection of a relevant comparison imaging examination. He also explains how the HIMSS-SIIM EIC convened experts to select a standard body part ontology for use in enterprise imaging
Describe the HIMSS-SIIM EIC’s plan to foster adoption of a standard body part ontology for use in enterprise imaging
 

Advances in PACS and Cardiology Information Systems at HIMSS 2021

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This is an overview of trends and technologies in radiology artificial intelligence (AI) applications in 2021. Views were shared by 11 radiologists using AI and industry leaders, which include:

• Randy Hicks, M.D., MBA, radiologist and CEO of Reginal Medical Imaging (RMI), and an iCAD Profound AI user.

• Prof. Dr. Thomas Frauenfelder, University of Zurich, Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, and Riverain AI user. 

• Amy Patel, M.D., medical director of Liberty Hospital Women’s Imaging, assistant professor of radiology at UMKC, and user of Kios AI for breast ultrasound. 

• Sham Sokka, Ph.D., vice president and head of innovation, precision diagnosis, Philips Healthcare.

• Ivo Dreisser, Siemens Healthineers, global marketing manager for the AI Rad Companion.

• Bill Lacey, vice president of medical informatics, Fujifilm Medical Systems USA.

• Karley Yoder, vice president and general manager, artificial intelligence, GE Healthcare.

• Georges Espada, head of Agfa Healthcare digital and computed radiography business unit.

• Pooja Rao, head of research and development and co-founder of Qure.ai.

• Jill Hamman, world-wide marketing manager at Carestream Health.

• Sebastian Nickel, Siemens Healthineers, global product manager for the AI Pathway Companion. 

There has been a change in attitudes about AI on the expo floor at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) over the last two years. AI conversations were originally 101 level and discussed how AI technology could be trained to sort photos of dogs and cats. However, in 2020, with numerous FDA approvals for various AI applications, the conversations at RSNA, and industry wide, have shifted to that of accepting the validity of AI. Radiologists now want to discuss how a specific AI algorithm is going to help them save time, make more accurate diagnoses and make them more efficient.

With a higher level of maturity in AI and the technology seeing wider adoption, radiologists using it say AI gives them additional confidence in their diagnoses, and can even help readers who may not be deep experts in the exam type they are being asked to read. 

With a myriad of new AI apps gaining regulatory approval from scores of imaging vendors, the biggest challenge for getting this technology into hospitals is an easy to integrate format. This has led to several vendors creating AI app stores. These allow AI apps to integrate easily into radiology workflows because the apps are already integrated as third-party software into a larger radiology vendors' IT platform.  

There are now hundreds of AI applications that do a wide variety of analysis, from data analytics, image reconstruction, disease and anatomy identification, automating measurements and advanced visualization. The AI applications can be divided into 2 basic types — AI to improve workflow, and AI for clinical decision support, such as diagnostic aids.

On the workflow side, several vendors are leveraging AI to pull together all of a patients' information, prior exams and reports in one location and to digest the information so it is easier for the radiologist to consume. Often the AI pulls only data and priors that relate to a specific question being asked, based on the imaging protocol used for the exam. One example of this is the Siemens Healthineers AI Clinical Pathway and Siemens AI integrations with PACS to automate measurements and advanced visualization.

AI is also helping simplify complex tasks and help reduce the reading time on involved exams. One example of this is in 3-D breast tomosythesis with hundreds of images, which is rapidly replacing 2-D mammography, which only produces 4 images. Another example is automated image reconstruction algorithms to significantly reduce manual work. AI also is now being integrated directly into several vendors' imaging systems to speed workflow and improve image quality.

Vendors say AI is here to stay. They explain the future of AI will be automation to help improve image quality, simplify manual processes, improved diagnostic quality, new ways to analyze data, and workflow aids that operate in the background as part of a growing number of software solutions. 

Several vendors at RSNA 2020 noted that AI's biggest impact in the coming years will be its ability to augment and speed the workflow for the small number of radiologists compared to the quickly growing elder patient populations worldwide. There also are applications in rural and developing countries were there are very low numbers of physicians or specialists.

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Konica Minolta’s theme for RSNA 2020 is Depth of Vision. ITN recently talked with David Widmann, President and CEO of Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas, about this focus and their key messages for customers and RSNA attendees.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming more common place in radiology practices, and emerging technologies are providing radiologists with sophisticated detection software to aid their reading and provide support for a busy workflow. With the progression of AI technology, vendors must look not only at what AI can do for the radiologist, but how the radiologist and the technician interact with that technology –  the goal should be increasing accuracy while also positively improving workflow. GE Healthcare is working to improve radiology AI workflow in its Centricity Universal Viewer.

Three key opinion leaders offers their views on what is needed to make AI more valauble and accessible to radiologists. These include:

   • Amy Patel, M.D., breast radiologist, medical director, Liberty Hospital Women's Imaging, assistant professor of radiology, University of Missouri-Kansas City.

   • Prof. Dr. Thomas Frauenfelder, M.D., vice chairman and professor of thoracic radiology, Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University of Zurich.

   • Randy Hicks, M.D., chief executive officer, Regional Medical Imaging.

Learn more about the Centricity Universal Viewer in the VIDEO: How GE Healthcare’s Zero Footprint Remote Image Viewer Supports Clinical Care

Kevin Borden, Vice President of Product, Healthcare IT for Konica Minolta, talks about Improving Access and Aiding Workflow with itnTV. He explains how the server-side rendering and zero-footprint viewer in its Exa PACS make it well-suited for remote reading.

Jilan Liu, M.D., MHA, CEO for the HIMSS Greater China, explains how health information technology (HIT) was leveraged in China to help fight the outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2). Her discussion includes use of artificial intelligence, telemedicine to reduce contact between people, using the electronic medical record to help record and track people COVID-19 patients had contact with, apps, internet hospitals, and how 5G networks helped speed up IT systems.

She was previously principal and consulting director of the Greater China Joint Commission International (JCI). As chief executive for HIMSS Greater China, Liu and her team made a significant breakthroughs with hospitals and the HIT industry in the greater China region to embrace international HIT standards, certification requirements and to rethink prudent approaches to IT investments and operations. 

Read the the related article by Liu, "Deployment of Health IT in China’s Fight Against the COVID-19 Epidemic."

GE Healthcare's iCenter is a cloud-based management software that provides 24/7 visibility to customers' visual and operational data. In this Conversations video, Contributing Editor Greg Freiherr discusses iCenter with GE and Microsoft Executives at RSNA 2019.

Khan Siddiqui, M.D., founder and CEO of HOPPR, discusses the economic advantages and costs presented by artificial intelligence (AI) applications in radiology, as well as potential strategies for healthcare providers looking to add AI to their armamentarium, at the 2019 Society of Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM) annual meeting.