Key Trends Shaping Medical Imaging

Alex D'Souza, Healthcare Tech Outlook | Tuesday, March 02, 2021

Augmented intelligence used to increase cooperation between radiologists and oncologists is a key development in healthcare.

FREMONT, CA: Each year, medical imaging saves millions of lives. A wide variety of diseases, from cancer and appendicitis to stroke and heart disease, can be identified and diagnosed by physicians. However, the healthcare system still strives to provide patients with new technologies. Thus, stakeholders continue to engage in research on medical imaging technology.

Explore below some of the significant developments in medical imaging technology in recent years.

Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) will grow from 21 billion dollars to 264.85 billion dollars in the medical imaging industry by 2026. With hundreds of AI innovations in progress in a competitive market, vendors would need to show customer ROI. However, it is worth the extra work. The specialized medical imaging market has the potential to be revolutionized by AI. For certain physicians, the capacity to sift through vast quantities of scans to return observations is crucial. The precision and speed of decision-making can be enhanced by AI-driven analytics.

Augmented Intelligence

Augmented intelligence and AI are comparable. Without human interference, true AI emulates human-like thinking. Human interactions are also needed for augmented intelligence. Augmented intelligence can optimize monotonous manual physician workflows with human feedback. The end effects are likely identical, but the procedure is a little less automated. Augmented intelligence used to increase cooperation between radiologists and oncologists is a key development in healthcare. This enterprise imaging, as it is also known as has broader healthcare ramifications. It usually is more affordable than more advanced artificial intelligence solutions. Augmented intelligence is a more accurate entry point for many facilities.

Wearables

There are several real-world use cases for wearable medical equipment. A recent trend has them allowing the elderly population to track and record essential things conveniently. Radiology and diagnostic imaging are now supposed to revolutionize them.

Nuclear Imaging

Before a medical imaging scan, a patient ingests radioactive materials called radiotracers (or radiopharmaceuticals) in nuclear imaging. During a scan, a camera tends to focus on where the radioactive material concentrates. These types of scans are beneficial when diagnosing the following:

Thyroid disease

Gall bladder disease

Heart conditions

Cancer and Alzheimer's disease