As the number one cause of mortality in the United States and globally, cardiovascular disease has long been a focus for medical researchers like Steven Rothenberg, M.D.
Rothenberg, an assistant professor in the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Department of Radiology, is the co-founder of Body Check, a UAB start-up company focused on developing and furthering artificial intelligence algorithms that can help identify patients with underlying cardiovascular disease.
Body Check recently received FDA clearance for its algorithm that identifies cases of cardiomegaly, or enlarged hearts, which will help improve health care outcomes, Rothenberg said.
“We will be notifying primary care providers of patients that have enlarged hearts and other cardiac risk factors to ensure they get appropriate workup and management,” he said.
The FDA clearance means that Body Check can now market and sell the algorithm for use in clinical practice.
Rothenberg said the algorithm is groundbreaking because currently, the diagnosis of cardiomegaly is subjective and inconsistent. According to Rothenberg, a recent UAB study demonstrated that even though cardiomegaly is “highly predictive” of future cardiovascular events, it was typically unreported when present. Also, patients with cardiomegaly often don’t have consistent cardiovascular care, he said.
“We see this as an opportunity to ensure access to care for high-risk individuals,” he said.
Rothenberg lauded the Radiology department as an incubator for cutting-edge ideas.
“The Department of Radiology and sub-specialty of imaging informatics at UAB is very strong and extremely innovative,” he said.
-- Nov. 4, 2024