FDA approves AI algorithms detecting signs of COVID-19

AI solutions provider for radiologists, Aidoc, has received clearance from the FDA for its AI algorithms intended for adjunctive use in the detection of findings associated with COVID-19.

The product detects and prioritises incidental CT findings associated with COVID-19 (e.g. GGO - a non-specific imaging finding associated with COVID-19 infection) in any CT study that contains the lung or part of the lung - for example chest, abdomen or cervical spine. Prioritisation of these incidental findings may help manage the adverse effects of COVID-19 by providing adjunctive information that can promote further patient evaluation.  

Dr. Paul Chang, vice chair, Radiology Informatics at University of Chicago Medicine, said: “In our experience, it is not unusual for the radiologist to be the first to diagnose COVID-19 disease in patients especially when the disease is clinically unsuspected. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic may occur in waves and should these waves occur, it will become increasingly important to identify imaging findings suggestive of COVID-19 in a variety of clinical settings. Aidoc’s ability to detect and triage patients with incidental findings associated with COVID-19 acts as another layer of protection as the disease may continue to circulate in the months to come.”

In studies published by universities of Brussels, Chicago and Brescia, as well as a report from Maimonides Medical Center in New York, 8-10% of patients undergoing CT scans for other conditions were discovered by radiologists to have COVID-19. These patients, who were undergoing oncology screenings or being screened for abdominal pain, did not have any COVID-associated respiratory symptoms.