PRESS RELEASE. Berlin, 28 October 2023 – MedTech companies Aidence, Incepto, and Thirona jointly introduce a comprehensive AI-powered software package for lung cancer screening and the analysis of emphysema, at the European Societies of Cardiovascular Radiology and Thoracic Imaging Joint Meeting. The companies aim to support healthcare providers in accelerating lung cancer screening roll-out across Europe with a suite of integrated artificial intelligence (AI) solutions and reporting capabilities that are seamlessly integrated in the radiology workflow. 

Netherlands-based Aidence and Thirona provide leading AI clinical applications for lung disease detection and management on chest CT scans.
Aidence’s Veye Lung Nodules automatically detects, measures, classifies, and tracks the volume growth of pulmonary nodules, possible early signs of lung cancer. Currently used daily in clinical routine across more than 100 European centers, Veye is the preferred AI solution in the UK’s Targeted Lung Health Checks Program, a lung cancer screening initiative for which more than 1 million people in the UK have already been invited.

Thirona is specialized in advanced analysis of thoracic CT images providing high-precision quantification of anatomical lung structures for a wide range of diseases and pathologies. Thirona’s LungQ​™​ Clinical Suite offered through the Incepto clinical platform enables efficient workflows in diagnosis and treatment planning for the most common lung diseases, including emphysema. LungQTM has a strong track record in detection and quantification of emphysema in clinical practice, being used for treatment planning at more than 400 clinical sites across Europe.

As the publications report that the computed tomography (CT) scans obtained in the lung cancer screening settings also frequently show signs of emphysema,  Thirona and Aidence decided to combine both applications , within one clinical package offered to radiologists and pulmonologists through the Incepto platform, as publications1 report that the computed tomography (CT) scans obtained in screening settings also frequently detect emphysema.
Paris-based Incepto offers a vetted platform of AI solutions for medical imaging. Its technology will ensure the connection and integration of both Aidence’s and Thirona’s AI applications directly into the hospitals’ workflow and PACS/RIS infrastructure. It will further return the results from both AI tools in one standardized, structured, and editable report, a unique feature in the current industry offering.

Antoine Jomier, Incepto’s Co-Founder and CEO, said:  

With combined efforts of prevention and education, massive rollout of screening programs for early detection, and new drug therapy, there is a great opportunity to radically lower the number of people dying from lung cancer every year. It is a huge effort that requires teamwork and collaboration between all parties. This is why this collaboration is so important.  

Eva van Rikxoort, PhD, Thirona’s Founder and CEO, added: 

As our technology, developed for specialized clinical trials and interventional pulmonology, has proven to deliver consistently high performance, we now want to make the most pivotal analysis available for clinical use.  
Combining most advanced capabilities of multiple vendors in user-friendly clinical application packages, is a great example of acting together to enable the best possible patient care.   

Victor Groothengel, Aidence’s Chief Commercial Officer, commented:

The collaboration with Thirona and Incepto is such a natural step. We are very complementary with our products and services. A combined offer by subject matter experts will serve the need of radiologists and pulmonologists who want to be accommodated with extended functionality without compromising on the workflow they are used to. 

Background: Lung cancer screening in Europe 

The positive results of lung cancer screening trials such as NELSON and NLST are gradually reflected in real-world implementations. England’s Targeted Lung Health Checks, notably, ‘turned a huge corner‘ this year. Since their launch in 2018, 2,000 people have received a lung cancer diagnosis, 76% at an early, potentially curable stage.

Backed by a positive recommendation from the EU, more European countries are expected to follow suit and launch regional or nationwide initiatives. Building on research and implementations, governments have a unique opportunity to establish effective lung cancer screening, reducing the impact of the disease on their population.

However, lung cancer screening is a complex and demanding undertaking, and countries face similar barriers to implementation, such as radiology shortfall, technical infrastructure, and participants’ uptake.

Technological innovation such as AI is increasingly used in lung cancer screening to reduce the time required for radiologists to report chest CTs while increasing the accuracy and quality of the reports.