Lehigh Valley Health Network’s department of radiology and diagnostic medical imaging will be integrating artificial intelligence software into existing workflows at all of its medical imaging sites beginning this summer, the health network announced this week.

“LVHN is constantly looking to employ the latest technologies to enhance accuracy, safety and patient experience,” said Devang Gor, MD, Chair, Radiology-Diagnostic Medical Imaging, Diagnostic Radiology, Neuroradiology, LVHN. “This latest partnership with Aidoc and Rad AI will bring innovative AI software into our existing processes, giving our radiologists real-time decision support on emergent and non-emergent conditions, helping us prioritize the reading of studies and mobilize a rapid response treatment team if needed, allowing us to quickly generate study impressions and making sure patients schedule follow-up appointments and testing for incidental [unexpected] findings.”

The three AI software programs being implemented include:

Aidoc

This AI technology will immediately read all imaging studies and look for three emergent conditions:

• Pulmonary embolism (a blood clot in the lungs)

• Pneumothorax (a collapsed lung)

• Cervical spine fracture (a fracture in the neck area)

If any of these conditions are identified, Aidoc’s technology notifies the radiology team.

In addition to prioritizing the study’s read, if a pulmonary embolism is detected, Aidoc’s AI notifies the hospital’s pulmonary embolism response team so the patient can receive multidisciplinary and lifesaving care immediately.

Rad AI Omni

This software will automatically generate study impressions from a radiologist’s dictation. It will also automatically compile and insert follow-up guidelines for incidental findings (lung nodules, thyroid nodules, adrenal lesions, kidney cysts, enlarged lymph nodes and more) from national medical organizations into reports, standardizing recommendations for additional care and evaluation. This process reduces manual data entry for radiologists and allows them to focus on higher level duties to improve patient safety and quality.

Rad AI Continuity

When incidental findings (lung nodules, thyroid nodules, adrenal lesions, kidney cysts, enlarged lymph nodes and more) are identified, this software will automatically send follow-up recommendations to the patient as well as their referring clinician and regularly check in with both the patient and clinician until the follow-up appointments or tests are scheduled.

All of the software programs are slated to launch at LVHN by the end of fall 2023.