COVID 19 and Radiology: There's Never Been a Better Time for AI
The COVID 19 pandemic has already overwhelmed our healthcare system, creating a ripple effect that puts additional strain on radiologists—and this will have serious impacts on breast cancer patient outcomes. In order to enforce social distancing and preserve resources for critically ill coronavirus patients, many imaging centers have put routine scheduled screening mammograms on hold for now. However, this means that those imaging centers will soon have to deal with the challenge of managing backlogs, keeping up with patient demand and ensuring accuracy in diagnosis at the same time.
There's never been a better time for AI in radiology and especially digital mammography. Right now there are as many as 3.5 million mammograms being deferred per month in the U.S. alone. When normalcy resumes there will be a surge of patients coming in to your practice, and we are here to help you prepare to get ahead of that surge.
The CureMetrix cmTriage™ is the first FDA-cleared, AI-based triage solution for mammography. It helps radiologists and imaging centers better predict which cases need immediate attention. cmTriage can help you get ahead of the surge by highlighting the suspicious cases so that you know where to focus first. It can also identify the less suspicious cases so that your colleagues or junior radiologists can help clear your worklist.
Studies have shown that cmTriage and the CureMetrix AI-CAD cmAssist® have led to:
- A 30% reduction in reading time for radiologists looking at 2D mammograms, resulting in more efficient worklist prioritization; and
- A 27% increase in early cancer detection without an increase in false-positive recalls;
- A 69% reduction in false positives vs. traditional CAD, leading to fewer unnecessary patient recalls, leaving more time for accurate diagnoses;
- A potential 62% reduction in radiologist workload.
While it may be tempting not to try anything new during a time of uncertainty, it’s even more important to stay ahead of the curve. Here are five reasons why you should implement the CureMetrix AI for mammography right now:
Five Reasons to Implement Now
- AI reduces backlogs. Many imaging centers are anticipating significant backlogs in screening mammograms as soon as they start seeing patients for routine procedures again. The CureMetrix cmTriage software helps your team better understand which cases need immediate attention. cmTriage helps sort, prioritize and triage an entire practice’s worklist by flagging suspicious cases.
- Radiologist burnout is real, and AI can help. A high workload, demand for speed and the pressure to ensure every reading is accurate can take a serious toll on a radiologist. Radiologist burnout affects the entire practice team and can lead to missed cancers or false positives in patients. Utilizing workflow optimization with AI-based triage will give your radiologists the time they need to focus on every case.
- Cloud-based solution. CureMetrix AI products are cloud-based, so you can get it up and running without having to install any new hardware in your clinic helping to keep your staff and patients safe. And since it integrates directly into your existing PACS and is fully automatic, training can take place online and in a matter of minutes.
- Implementation is fast, no cost and secure. Our HIPAA-compliant, cloud-based solutions allow us to move quickly. To support you and your business, CureMetrix is waiving all installation costs during the COVID 19 crisis. If you have stopped performing mammograms, there is no cost to have the software resident on your system. Installation is fast, easy and can happen immediately to prepare you for when your practice is up and running.
- “Metrix” matter. All of our metrics are real-time and monitored continuously. The CureMetrix team is here to support your team—and we can help you demonstrate the benefits of AI CAD to your entire community.
We are all in this together. During this period of social distancing, CureMetrix AI-based mammography solutions can put workflow tools in place now to prepare for tomorrow.
1. Comm, Joel. "Why AI is More Trustworthy Than You Think," Inc. <https://www.inc.com/joel-comm/why-ai-may-be-more-trustworthy-than-you-think.html>.