CorTechs Labs, Subtle Medical Forge Distribution Partnership

CorTechs Labs and Subtle Medical are joining together to increase global access to medical imaging solutions. The non-exclusive business development agreement expands Subtle Medical’s automated image reconstruction solutions to CorTechs Labs’ global customer base via its internal sales and marketing teams.
 
Subtle Medical’s software solutions, SubtleMR and SubtlePET, are the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration-cleared AI-powered software applications approved for medical imaging enhancement. SubtleMR applies two methods of image enhancement—denoising and increasing image sharpness—to improve image quality, while SubtlePET denoises scans that were conducted in 25 percent of the original scan duration. Both software solutions allow centers to provide a better patient experience and increase throughput by maintaining the superior image quality of a site’s accelerated scan protocols.

“By joining forces with CorTechs Labs, we can work together to provide increased clinical value to radiologists and neurologists while improving the radiology workflow and patient experience at the same time,” said Enhao Gong, founder and CEO of Subtle Medical. “We are excited about taking this step to transform care delivery.”
 
Subtle’s solutions complement the CorTechs Labs quantitative volumetric analysis software portfolio and can be combined to increase radiology efficiency while enhancing clinical findings and analysis. The software integrates seamlessly with any PET or MRI scanner and PACS to enhance images during acquisition without any alteration to existing workflows.
 
CorTechs Labs’ flagship product, NeuroQuant, uses machine learning to provide automatic segmentation overlays and quantification of brain structures and lesions from MRI, revealing the presence of various biomarkers. Values are compared to a unique normative database of patients of the same age and sex to aid physicians in making clinical decisions regarding neurodegenerative diseases.

“I am very excited to partner with Subtle Medical to expand the clinical utility of our radiology imaging solutions in the worldwide market,” said Dr. Chris Airriess, CEO of CorTechs Labs. “The reduced acquisition time of Subtle’s scans that perform equivalently, from a quantitative perspective, to native acquisitions will greatly benefit the workflow efficiency of our clinical partners and allow advanced volumetric imaging solutions to be deployed more widely across our customer base, leading ultimately to better patient care.”
 
PETQuant is a research-specific component of NeuroQuant that provides physicians with a cutting-edge analysis tool in the study of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. It allows for automated and fast analysis of PET brain studies by segmenting brain structures and quantifying subregional tracer binding in native patient brain space.
 
In an abstract submission to the American Society of Neuroradiology’s annual meeting titled, “Deep Learning Enables Accurate Quantitative Volumetric Brain MRI with 2x Faster Scan Times”, co-authored by Dr. Suzie Bash, a prominent neuroradiologist with RadNet, the largest U.S. outpatient radiology network, the companies found that the NeuroQuant segmentation and volumetric outputs between the SubtleMR acquired series and the standard scan series were quantitatively similar, indicating that SubtleMR can enable accurate segmentation and volumetric measurements using NeuroQuant in half the amount of time. In a period when imaging facilities are slowed due to COVID-19 sanitation procedures, the time gained via SubtleMR is a major workflow improvement. Facilities can reduce scan time without sacrificing critical volumetric analysis that may otherwise not allow for shorter imaging sequences.
 
“RadNet’s recent research demonstrated that deep learning reconstruction of brain MR imaging with SubtleMR effectuates enhanced image quality, as well as greater efficiency with significant scan time reduction,” said Dr. Suzie Bash, neuroradiologist, RadNet. “It also maintained high volumetric quantification accuracy with NeuroQuant, which suggests promise for reliability, consistency, and utility of both applications in routine clinical practice.”