05 Dec AI-Enhanced Routine Abdominal CT Scans Detected Cardiovascular Disease Risk

MedicalResearch.com Interview with:

Dr. Bredella

Miriam A. Bredella, MD, MBA
Bernard and Irene Schwartz Professor of Radiology & Vice Chair for Strategy
Associate Dean for Translational Science
Director, Clinical and Translational Science Institute
NYU Grossman School of Medicine
NYU Langone Health
Translational Research Building 743
New York, NY 10016

MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study?

Response: We perform >80 million CTs every year in the US, and there is a lot of information on these CTs that is not used and “thrown away.” Opportunistic imaging or opportunistic screening with the help of AI takes advantage of this information and automatically detects and quantifies vascular calcification, bone mineral density, abdominal fat or muscle mass. In our study, we wanted to detect whether calcification of the abdominal aorta, quantified using AI, could predict coronary artery calcification and major cardiovascular events (e.g. myocardial infarction, cardiac revascularization, stroke, or death).

MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings?

Response:  We found that vascular calcification of the aorta, detected on routine abdominal CTs with the help of AI, was able to detect coronary artery calcification and major cardiovascular events.

MedicalResearch.com: Is this a more sophisticated form of finding ‘incidentalomas”?

Response:  Typical “Incidentalomas” are unexpected findings on an imaging study (e.g. detecting a pulmonary nodule on a chest CT performed to evaluate for a pulmonary embolism or an adrenal nodule on an abdominal CT performed to rule out a renal stone). Opportunistic screening is different from detecting “incidentalomas” – it involves standardized quantification of bone density or vascular calcification.

MedicalResearch.com: Does it open the door to requiring enhancement of all images to look for occult findings?

Response:  Hopefully in the future we will use all the information on an imaging study to help take better care of our patients and detect pre-symptomatic disease.

MedicalResearch.com: What recommendations do you have for future research as a results of this study?

Response: The information on routine CTs should be used in combination with standard clinical risk factors to determine cardiovascular risk and initiate therapy before patients suffer a heart attack or stroke.

Citation: RSNA 2024 Abstract:

RSNA abstract discussing the use of AI to opportunistically screen abdominal CT scans for other cardiovascular diseases.

This presentation (abstract #W7-SSCA08-5) at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), Dec. 4, 2024, at 3 p.m. CST in Chicago is titled “Opportunistic Assessment of Aortic Artery Calcification Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Its Association with Coronary Artery Calcification and Cardiovascular Events.” 

Video animation about the work of study researcher Miriam Bredella, MD, MBA, is also available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAQvZvHtwuo   

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Last Updated on December 5, 2024 by Marie Benz MD FAAD