Intelerad's Chief Technology Officer, Chris Wood, on the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Chris Wood joined the company in 2018 when Clario Medical, the company he co-founded, was acquired by Intelerad. He holds a graduate degree in medical physics from the University of South Florida, and has worked for 20 years in the medical imaging software industry. He developed, or led the development of, some of the earliest products in the areas of 3D, PACS, image-guided surgery and CAD, while holding senior management positions at Picker International and Siemens, among others. The product strategy we set now results in features or products that will arrive in months or even years in the future. We, therefore, build for the future, and the more accurately we predict what the radiologist of the future will want, the more successful our products and services will be.

To inform our strategy, we listen to our customers and potential customers, but we also consider other factors such as industry trends (e.g., practice consolidation), clinical practice changes (e.g., lung cancer screening), technology trends (e.g., cloud computing), and trends in consumer software (e.g., voice control).

Artificial intelligence is a technology that is sweeping through other industries, has been proven to be clinically impactful in radiology, and has the potential to help reverse a growing, worldwide, radiologist shortage. For these reasons, we are predicting that AI will be more than a feature or a product, but a disruptive force in radiology.

We are not unique in recognizing the potential impact AI can have in radiology. There are over 120 startups developing AI applications for Medical Imaging, and over $1B (US) invested so far. These startups are facing many challenges, but getting their technology properly inserted into the workflow (without slowing down the radiologist) is perhaps the biggest challenge they face.

Radiologists’ early experience with AI systems have caused them to realize what other industries have already learned; humans and AI should join forces. AI’s larger impact comes when it complements and augments human capabilities, not when it attempts to replace them. By adopting this philosophy, we can solve the AI workflow challenges, allowing radiologists to improve the service they provide, while simultaneously boosting efficiency.

If we get this right, machines will do what they do best, and radiologists will do what they do best. This would be a disruption we can all embrace.

Intelerad has two decades of radiology workflow expertise. We are leveraging this experience to create AI management and AI workflow software that help AI and radiologists work together. We are building tools that allow radiology practices to define when AI is used, and under what conditions. We are integrating AI systems so that they work seamlessly with our worklist and image viewer. We are also developing workflow specific functionality using our own AI algorithms.

Our customers want to be efficient, and have access to the best technology so they can provide the best care to their patients. To be successful, radiologists need to control what AI they will use, when to use it, and how it will be integrated. To make this happen, Intelerad has published open APIs for AI integration, and we are building the best tools we can imagine to allow radiologists and AI to join forces. If we get this right, machines will do what they do best, and radiologists will do what they do best. This would be a disruption we can all embrace.

Daringly Accessible

Easy access to clinical data across the patient care continuum is critically important to providing superior patient care, but replacing healthcare technology systems is expensive, time-consuming, and disruptive.

Intelerad solutions are designed to facilitate access to and exchange of clinical information across the hospital enterprise, leveraging existing imaging and IT systems so that healthcare providers can optimize and extend the life of their existing technology investments.

Foster collaboration and deliver better health outcomes by:

› Providing secure access to all relevant imaging data at the time of interpretation, regardless of where it originates › Improving physician satisfaction through specialized, streamlined workflows that increase efficiency and productivity › Enabling viewing and storage of all imaging data throughout the enterprise › Delivering radiology results to care teams for seamless clinical continuity › Granting patients secure access to their clinical results through a flexible and intuitive interface