South Korean startup Lunit has signed a reference site agreement with RadLink, a Singapore-based private diagnostic and molecular imaging service provider under the Fullerton Health Group.

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

Lunit's AI software for chest x-ray and mammography – Lunit INSIGHT CXR and Lunit INSIGHT MMG – are being introduced at RadLink. Both AI-powered products detect lesions on radiographs that may indicate chest abnormalities and breast cancer with around 96-99% accuracy and render a visual presentation of the sites of the findings.

Meanwhile, the two companies are also collaborating on a clinical study using Lunit INSIGHT MMG to further probe the value of AI in reading mammography. The study's result is targeted to be published next year.

WHY IT MATTERS

Dr Chee Way Eng, medical director and managing director of RadLink,  said in a press statement that they hope the Lunit AI products will "improve the overall productivity and accuracy" of their radiologists. 

RadLink Head of Breast Imaging and Consultant Dr Niketa Chotai mentioned that the initial results of using the Lunit mammography tool "look impressive," and that it "feels like having another expert to evaluate the images".

Drs Eng and Chotai will serve as ambassadors for Lunit and will also perform analyses and case studies using its AI software. 

"We are delighted to introduce our AI solutions to RadLink, to create clinical value and ensure a healthier life for the people in the region," Lunit CEO Brandon Suh commented.

THE LARGER TREND

Lunit has also powered Fujifilm's chest x-ray software called CXR-AID with the Lunit INSIGHT CXR. The integration enables the software to illustrate findings through heatmap and to provide abnormality scoring. The chest x-ray tool has been cleared by Japan's ​​Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency.

In September, Lunit obtained the approval of the Health Sciences Authority in Singapore to commercialise its two AI tools.

New INSIGHT products for chest CT and digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) will be revealed soon, Lunit said early this month. What was known so far was the Lunit INSIGHT DBT is able to select a 3D slice image with suspected lesions among multiple images while the Lunit INSIGHT Chest CT automatically generates a detected module's location, type, volume and axial diameter.