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Jeremy De Sy

CIRSE 2024: How AI is Supporting Interventional Radiology

Adoption, Care Coordination, Europe, Outcomes, Pulmonary Embolism
Table of Contents

The 2024 CIRSE conference in Lisbon this month brought together the interventional radiology (IR) community from across Europe. This year’s event introduced SPHAIRE, a new AI-focused initiative designed to explore how emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), can support and transform the field of interventional radiology.

Exploring AI-Driven PERT Workflows for Better Outcomes

As part of the programme, I was invited to speak on “AI-Driven PERT Workflows: Enhancing Patient Outcomes and Reducing Care Gaps”, where I demonstrated how AI can be leveraged to  streamline acute care coordination, particularly for serious conditions like pulmonary embolism (PE). Aidoc’s PERT suite automatically identifies suspected acute PE cases, alerting PERTs for relevant cases to enable faster, multidisciplinary decision-making. This kind of technology is transforming the speed with which IRs can intervene in critical cases.

Is Europe’s IR Community Ready for AI?

One question I sought to explore at this year’s CIRSE was whether Europe’s IR community is ready to embrace AI. While diagnostic radiology has already made great strides with AI adoption across Europe, its application in interventional radiology is still emerging. Given the advances in AI and its potential to transform healthcare, particularly in a technology-driven field like interventional radiology, it’s crucial for interventionalists to understand and lead the integration of these innovations into their clinical practice (1,2).

Bridging Gaps: AI’s Role in Pre-Intervention Care

While there was clear enthusiasm for AI at the conference, as evidenced by packed sessions and prominent positioning of AI providers, I noticed a gap in how AI is expected to impact IR. The focus at CIRSE was largely on how AI can assist IRs during the procedures themselves, but another important opportunity lies in how AI can drive workflow improvements before the intervention even begins.

For example, many patients who could benefit from IR services currently fall through the cracks because IRs never see them in the first place. AI can support optimal access to care  by flagging these patients earlier. By integrating AI into upstream processes, IRs can not only increase the number of patients they consult for (and ultimately intervene on) but also ensure they prioritise the most appropriate patients for intervention.

AI in Action: Real-World Impact on Patient Outcomes

Aidoc’s AI solutions have already demonstrated their value in this area, where AI-triggered PERT activations have reduced the mean time-to-intervention by nearly 50% and ICU stays by approximately 60% (3). This technology has now been introduced in Europe, with UZ Brussel becoming the first European hospital to use AI for cross-departmental care coordination, expediting treatment for suspected pulmonary embolism (PE) patients (4).

Looking Ahead: The Future of AI in Interventional Radiology

As AI continues to evolve, its role in interventional radiology is set to grow, reshaping the way procedures are performed and how patients are selected for care. However, education and awareness will be key to helping Europe’s IR community fully embrace the benefits AI has to offer. While the potential is enormous, bridging the gap between current practices and the transformative possibilities of AI will require continued dialogue, education, and collaboration.

Beyond the Intervention: AI as a Catalyst for Change

CIRSE 2024 showcased a clear interest in AI and its applications within interventional radiology, but it also highlighted the fact that the journey is just beginning. AI has the potential to elevate interventional radiology to new heights, but we need to think beyond the intervention itself. AI can enhance patient workflows, improve care coordination, and ultimately deliver better outcomes. The future is bright, but there’s work to be done to get there.

In summary, AI is more than just a tool for interventions—it’s a catalyst for broader change in the field of interventional radiology, offering IRs the opportunity to enhance their impact on the patient journey, and its outcomes.

  1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37668690/
  2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10000832/
  3. Burch et al. “Improving Patient Outcomes with an AI-Enhanced Pulmonary Embolism Response Team in a Large Healthcare Network” – PE Symposium 2024 Poster Presentation
  4. https://www.aidoc.com/about/news/aidoc-uzb-pert-ai/

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Jeremy De Sy

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