University Hospitals (UH) Cleveland Medical Center recently became the first US adopter of a new x-ray system, developed by GE Healthcare, that is enabled with Critical Care Suite, an AI tool designed to identify and prioritize collapsed lungs.

“The Critical Care suite is an exciting innovation in cardiothoracic imaging. It represents a close clinical and research partnership between GEHC and University Hospitals that spans almost 20 years,” said Robert “Chip” Gilkeson, MD, Director, Cardiovascular Imaging Center and Vice Chairman of Research, in a statement.

Critical Care Suite is intended for ICU triage, an especially crucial tool during the COVID-19 pandemic as ICUs have seen an increase in patients during the crisis. Specifically, when a lung doesn’t inflate, it can’t bring oxygen into the bloodstream or remove carbon dioxide from the body. A person with a collapsed lung may experience shortness of breath, discomfort when breathing or chest pain on one side.  In severe cases, a person may go into shock, which is a life-threatening condition. A chest x-ray is needed to confirm pneumothorax, but patients also need a rapid diagnosis.

Radiologists believe that the AI device will help them clinically evaluate the workflow and performance and independently gauge the sensitivity of the algorithm used to detect critical findings.

“Employing this equipment means better care for our patients,” said Amit Gupta, MD, modality director, diagnostic radiography and principal investigator on the project. “It’s now not just the humans working for them; now the machines are assisting in the patient’s welfare. This improves workflow as well as patient care.”

So far, Gupta and Gilkeson completed the evaluation phase for the Critical Care Suite in December, and the technology is now in daily clinical practice. It detects about seven to 15 collapsed lungs per day within the hospital.

“Today there are a multitude of AI algorithms being developed, but very few solutions seamlessly integrate into actual clinical workflow,” Katelyn Nye, GM, global mobile radiography & artificial intelligence at GE Healthcare, said in the press release.

“GEHC selected UH to be the first USA pilot site because of the extensive research relationship, progressive IT and Radiologist teams looking to integrate AI to improve workflow, and the center of excellence for cardiothoracic care.”