It’s almost as easy to review RSNA 2024 remotely as it is in person. I have developed an incredible network over the years, read a ton of posts, and frankly (not bragging, just the facts ma’am) understand the marketplace better than most. The hardest part was getting over the guilt of not going to the show especially being of Italian descent where the guilt is ingrained.
Driving down the road hearing Cole Swindell’s poignant tribute to his dad was great, but hearing the words “You should be here” just drove home the point of where I should be versus where I was. Yet after spending a whopping hour and a half at an arts and crap show on Saturday my knees and feet were both screaming at me to get off them so 12 hours plus a day for four full days on both would not have been good.
Michael J. Cannavo.
AI was all over the place and everyone was talking about it and showing it. Not surprisingly, just one in seven vendors (107 total) who had products showed up, although that’s really not a bad turnout for companies that probably spent at least 75% of their marketing budget on this one show.
With the exception of AI-based results reporting, the messaging was pretty much cookie cutter with no one clearly delineating what made their product superior over the other. Sensitivity, specificity, false negatives, false positives, area under the curve (AUC), and all kinds of other technical gobbledygook are good to read about but the one thing everyone was missing in the discussion was the actual cost to use AI. This was universal whether in booth discussions, papers, posters, or presentations.
Money matters
What’s needed is a simple-to-use and simple-to-understand return on investment (ROI) model. I developed one, but I haven’t seen anyone else’s yet to compare it against.
A few European studies have shown AI being used much more extensively there than in the U.S., but AI use in a socialized environment like Europe, Canada, and other areas is totally different than in the U.S. If the cost isn’t covered by Medicare, Medicaid, private insurance, or other payers or isn’t bundled into the exam cost in one way or another it’s all out of pocket.
Countering the plethora of studies that show how good AI can be are yet other studies that show the vast majority of consumers aren’t willing to pay extra for an opinion rendered by AI. If it were $10-$15 extra it probably wouldn’t be a major issue but most companies are looking for New Technology Add-On Payment (NTAP)-type reimbursements in the hundreds and that simply happening whether it’s in a socialized environment or in the U.S. There may be exceptions, but they are few and far between.
New players
It was good to see a few new PACS entries in the marketplace. Nearly all the PACS vendors talked about necessary changes needed to the workflow and several showed interesting ways to optimize that. That is badly needed and was so good to see and hear about. This included AI-powered radiology reporting which falls somewhere in between AI and PACS. Most of the industry leaders in that area were packed with people wanting to understand more about how AI reporting helps with increasing radiologist efficiency. That market is poised to explode even more so than it has.
It’s interesting to see a smattering of digital pathology systems being shown by some of the majors advancing the concept of true enterprise imaging, but we are still several years from seeing that market fully evolve. Partnerships and mergers seem to be the name of the game from companies simply sharing booth space to fully merged products that share sales and marketing. Nearly everyone was affiliated one way or another with someone else, something that I predicted several years past, and this trend will continue to grow and the pace of spending remains faster than the speed of adoption. You should see this change shortly, though, once AI obtains category one reimbursement codes or even select category three codes that a few companies are making use of now.
So what was fun? The available fodder for awards was amazing with at least twice as many awards possible to be handed out as those shown below. The editors want to keep their jobs though so I didn’t submit them all. They will be reserved for the next show when we plan ahead and enjoy margaritas and laughs and my political correctness (cough cough) goes completely out the window.
The 2024 PACSMan Awards:
The Dumbo Award
This award has two meanings.
- This company is beyond dumb
- Having a set the size of an elephant
Putting out a press release on opening day letting the general public know they are at the RSNA trying to sell their company is beyond ballsy -- and as best I could tell they also had no booth. They certainly took puffery to a new level in their release. I sure hope any investors looking to buy them plan on changing the name of the company because I’m highly confident the RSNA will not be pleased with being played like this.
The Slow News Award
To the journal that actually covered the above story. Over 700 vendors at the RSNA including 107 AI vendors and that is the best you can come up with?
The Morgan and Morgan Award
The largest law firm in the country is located here in Orlando and goes by the slogan ”Size Matters.” Apparently, this vendor took that slogan literally with a video screen that even Stevie Wonder could see. So did the company which wasn’t a major but brought close to 50 people to staff their booth. Can you say overkill?
The Jimmy Cagney Award
To the AI company who had AI-generated subtitles on their LinkedIn video when the subtitles called the company “Team Ratty.” I can hear Cagney now, “You dirty rat you …” LOL. The incorrect AI-interpreted subtitles were taken down by 6:30 a.m. but I was up at 5:30.
The Give Them the Bird Award
To the guy who came back after the RSNA and found out his wife had bought a bird without his knowledge. “Hi, honey -- guess what?”: At least it wasn’t a parrot that could live over 70 years or more. Most, but not all, kids generally fly the coop at 18, although they are not quite as cheap as a bird (but can be just as noisy).
The Karnac the Magnificent Award
To the luminaries, visionaries, prognosticators, and “renowned thinkers“ all looking for a video camera anywhere to get their 15 minutes of fame and predict where they think AI will be in the next two, five, or 10 years. I’d be happy to know where the market and half the companies in it will be in three months if even that long.
The Current Events Award
To the journal that cites a three-year-old study done in Europe that starts out: “AI successful in replacing radiologist" Seriously? How little it seems we have learned.
The Medicare Award
To the journal with the Facebook page that features photos on the left-hand side that all say the word “aging.” As if I need a reminder that I’m old and decrepit.
The Indy 500 Award
It used to be bowling down the aisles on the last day of the show. Now we are driving cars to get out of there quicker. Vendors, start your engines.
The Top Gun Award
To the company that named its product “Wingman.” I sure hope it fares better than Goose from the movie Top Gun did. And the 2024 PACSMan Award Winner:
The Trojan Award
To the company whose tagline is “Protect your injector.” I have always found that to be a very good policy.
Michael J. Cannavo is known industry-wide as the PACSman. After several decades as an independent PACS consultant, he worked as both a strategic accounts manager and solutions architect with two major PACS vendors. He has now made it back safely from the dark side and is sharing his observations.
His healthcare consulting services for end users include PACS optimization services, system upgrade and proposal reviews, contract reviews, and other areas. The PACSman is also working with imaging and IT vendors developing market-focused messaging as well as sales training programs. He can be reached at [email protected] or by phone at 407-359-0191.
The comments and observations expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of AuntMinnie.com.
For full 2024 RSNA coverage, visit our RADCast.
