Hoag Becomes First in the Country to Use AI-Powered PET Scans to Improve Patient Care
NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF., September 3, 2019 --- Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian’s Imaging Department is blending unprecedented, innovative technology with patient care with the addition of SubtlePET™, new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered imaging technology that cuts positron emission tomography (PET) scan time for patients by more than 60%. Hoag is the first hospital in the country to adopt this groundbreaking software for patient use.
This is the first AI-powered software cleared by the FDA for medical imaging enhancement. The technology produces the same high-quality images seen in traditional 18-minute PET scans, while reducing patient time in the scanner to just 4.5 minutes – significantly improving patient comfort and reducing appointment length.
“By utilizing AI-powered imaging technology, we have been able to dramatically increase PET scan efficiency and provide a superior patient experience,” said Michael Brant-Zawadzki, M.D., F.A.C.R., senior physician executive and the Ron & Sandi Simon Executive Medical Director Endowed Chair of the Pickup Family Neurosciences Institute at Hoag. “The technology allows us to scan a patient four times faster than normal, yet maintain equal image quality, not otherwise impacting work flow.”
Hoag’s adoption of the new imaging technology enables completion of more exams in a day compared to conventional PET imaging, boosting hospital productivity and enabling more patients to be scanned comfortably per day on existing scanners.
Early adoption of game-changing technology is built into the fabric of Hoag. The hospital was one of five research partners, and the only in Southern California, to participate in a clinical trial designed to test the validity of the SubtlePET software and its impact on patients and standard of care. Hoag’s participation and partnership was paramount in the technology’s pursuit of FDA clearance, which was awarded in November 2018.
The SubtlePET imaging software is currently being used at Hoag’s Advanced Technology Pavilion in Newport Beach, with expansion to additional locations planned in the future.
ABOUT HOAG MEMORIAL HOSPITAL PRESBYTERIAN
Hoag is an approximately $1 billion nonprofit, regional health care delivery network in Orange County, California, that treats more than 30,000 inpatients and 450,000 outpatients annually. Hoag consists of two acute-care hospitals – Hoag Hospital Newport Beach, which opened in 1952, and Hoag Hospital Irvine, which opened in 2010 – in addition to eight health centers and 11 urgent care centers. Hoag is a designated Magnet® hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Hoag offers a comprehensive blend of health care services that includes five institutes providing specialized services in the following areas: cancer, heart and vascular, neurosciences, women’s health, and orthopedics through Hoag’s affiliate, Hoag Orthopedic Institute, which consists of an orthopedic hospital and two ambulatory surgical centers. Hoag has been named one of the Best Regional Hospitals in the 2019 - 2020 U.S. News & World Report, and Becker’s Healthcare named Hoag as one of the 2018 “100 Great Hospitals in America” – a designation Hoag has received five times. For an unprecedented 23 years, residents of Orange County have chosen Hoag as one of the county’s best hospitals in a local newspaper survey. Visit www.hoag.org for more information.
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