FDA clears AI software for chest CT from Siemens Healthineers

Siemens Healthineers announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared three modules of AI-Rad Companion Chest CT, artificial intelligence-based software that enables enhanced visualization of computed tomography (CT) images of the lungs, heart, and aorta. It automatically highlights abnormalities and pathological findings, and enables automated structured reporting.

This is the first intelligent “assistant” of Siemens’ new AI-Rad Companion platform, and is designed to help radiologists interpret images of the thorax rapidly with desired accuracy and precision, according to Siemens. Based on the AI-supported analysis, AI-Rad Companion Chest CT automatically generates standardized, reproducible, and quantitative reports in Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) SC format.

Tasks supported by AI-Rad Companion Chest CT include automated detection of lesions, localization of abnormalities, and measurement of lung lesions; quantification of per-lobe low-attenuation parenchyma; enhanced visualization of lung lesions; automated segmentation of lung lobes and enhanced visualization 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.

The software also highlights potentially clinically relevant changes that might not be noticed if they were not the primary indication for the exam.