Earlier this month, the Osimis team and I visited the beautiful city of Vienna for the European Congress of Radiology. This year’s edition really hit home with us, triggering us with intriguing eye-openers, and connecting us with our team, partners, peers, and key market players. Our team debrief revealed five summary highlights from Prof. Dr. Erik Ranschaert, Dr. Sergey Morozov, Denis Stappers, and yours truly. Read on to discover these key insights my colleagues and I took away from this must-attend industry conference.
#1 – One should never not be listening, learning, or adapting
Prof. Erik Ranschaert - You need data to make informed decisions and #ECR2022 gave us that opportunity. Visiting events such as this gives us insight into the business and the scientific POV; we can observe new trends and hear the most discussed research topics and pain points. For instance, one interesting insight I gained was that many AI-related papers and academic submissions are coming from China now, suggesting this region is set to have a profound impact on the industry.
Being able to learn more about new AI applications or how to improve existing tools is a vital part of our evolution as an AI workflow innovator. We can exchange new information about applicability in a clinical context and hear from those radiologists who benefit most from the integration of AI into their workspace.
Dr. Sergey Morozov - #ECR2022 is one of the major events on the radiology technology calendar, and the educational and scientific insights we experienced there were of the highest quality. These shows enable us to grow and develop as a business, giving us the opportunity to evolve as we share our performance from the previous year and our plans for the next one. Being able to build new bridges with partners and test newly developed value propositions ensures we’re not just learning but growing as a direct result.
Denis Stappers - Attending a show like #ECR2022 is incredibly important, especially when you want to get the latest news on the development of radiology technology. It’s also a great way for us to meet current and future partners, as well as hear from those radiologists who are working on the clinical frontline. It’s this kind of information that helps shape our portfolio and enhance our offering so it’s reflective of the modern radiology field.
Frederic Lambrechts - Keeping your finger on the industry pulse is only possible when you’re willing to look for answers to the most pressing questions. Does our portfolio fit the market? Did we select the right vendors? How are our platforms positioning and how to we differentiate? We’re developing a shared commercial vision for Osimis and being able to meet prospects and fellow industry professionals and leverage the insights they share to make our platform and offerings meet those expectations.
#2 - ECR overdelivers despite reduced radiologist attendance
Frederic Lambrechts - It’s true that the number of radiologists at this year’s show was quite low, but that doesn’t mean that the show was any less valuable to us. Meeting vendors remains one of our key objectives, and #ECR2022 was a great success from that perspective.
As a business, #ECR2022 became an invaluable team building experience which enabled us to become more informed and more versatile as a solutions provider in this industry. We were still able to meet some of our key customers and start conversations with some exciting prospects. It’s clear the event itself needs to evolve to meet these changes to attendance, and I’m excited to see what it looks like for #ECR2023.
Prof. Dr. Erik Ranschaert – Indeed, there was around a 30% reduction compared to previous years), but it’s also something we expected due to the fact that it took place during a holiday period, and this is how events such as these have evolved since the pandemic.
Despite the lower numbers, the event benefited with a more relaxed and open atmosphere where attendees and exhibitors could visit booths without the need for structed meetings and appointments. The new venue was a real improvement, and the topics of conversation – including a greater focus on the latest scientific developments – really made #ECR2022 even more effective.
Denis Stappers - #ECR2022 offered a great exhibitor experience. The sheer number of scientific sessions on offer really bolstered our knowledge of new trends and developments set to affect radiologists around the world.
It is a shame that there were less radiologists present at this year’s show, especially as it’s their insights that hold so much value. Thankfully, our conversations with vendors, current customers and prospects proved the event still has plenty to offer.
Dr. Sergey Morozov - For me, #ECR2022 is the cornucopia of international radiology developments. It’s true that this year’s show was affected by several factors including meeting cancellations, the shift from the original March date to July and the overall reduction in radiologist attendance, but it was still a very valuable event or us.
Nevertheless, the show didn’t just survive, it thrived. The scientific content from this year’s show was eye-opening and it’s clear from our meetings and conversations we had that #ECR2022 was a still a success for the Osimis team.
#3 - AI-opening market insights galore
Frederic Lambrechts - There are many platforms out there that claim they can integrate AI into the radiologist’s workspace, but the customers we spoke to at the show (and those we contacted both before and after) all confirm that the Osimis approach – offering a dedicated distribution platform – is the solution that makes the most sense.
PACS vendors don’t actively sell complete solutions, which is a real paint point for vendors. PACS vendors are also limited in deployment of AI in a hospital network with different PACS as some AI features cannot be fully deployed via PACS.
Prof. Dr. Erik Ranschaert - One thing is for certain: AI is increasing its footprint in radiology. Most applications out there are purely focused on enhancing image analysis but very few are looking at the bigger workflow picture – that’s a mindset we’re trying to change here at Osimis. AI vendors are now starting to convince new customers of the value of AI for workflow improvement, and while the investment in new AI solutions isn’t as high as we expected, the penetration of AI in the market is increasing across different formats.
Everyone is looking for the best and most effective business model but there are still plenty of issues including a lack of data, lack of financing a hospital setting for AI-based solutions and myriad legal ramifications. AI needs to become part of radiology training, integrated into the workflow from the beginning and help foster more effective collaboration.
Denis Stappers - The big highlight for me from #ECR2022 was the way we were able to connect with contacts from across the industry. Being able to meet both current and future partners was a real boon for us as it enables us to see how we can continue to improve our portfolio and give our customers the most effective and refined AI-powered solution for radiology.
Dr. Sergey Morozov - There were plenty of highlights and takeaways for me from #ECR2022. Firstly, the ongoing maturation of the AI market with continuing mergers and acquisitions, then there are the changes of business models and pricing policies. But the ‘hype’ around artificial intelligence will naturally start to go down as more ‘real-life’ routine applications emerge, so it’s about how we address that while continuing to present the evolving benefits of adopting AI.
#4 – Tech to keep an AI on
Frederic Lambrechts - In terms of looking to the future and the big changes for the industry, I’d say there’s a real opportunity to increase the install base via non-AI vendors. There’s also a clear growth in the market in terms of AI vendors, with the likes of Incepto and deepc really making waves alongside us across different European markets such as Spain and Italy.
Prof. Dr. Erik Ranschaert - Our time at #ECR2022 enabled us to reaffirm our ‘lay of the land’, and it’s clear there are plenty of vendors out there that will likely have an impact on the industry including PACS vendors such as GE, Philips and Sectra and pharmacy-focused platforms such as Calantic from Bayer.
There are also some new major players to watch including Annalise.ai, Heartflow, Infervision, Viz.ai, Lunit and Aidoc. The AI market for use in a medical setting is really starting to scale.
Denis Stappers - For those looking to the future, I’d say the new innovative AI solutions that are coming to market should be on your radar. There are also many competing platforms out there alongside Osimis as well as all manner of PACS vendors that are partnering with different AI solutions.
Dr. Sergey Morozov - There are some key players outside of the traditional healthcare industry that everyone should be watching, such as Microsoft, Amazon and Google. Within the healthcare sector the likes of Gleamer and Milvue have huge potential radiology automation; Mediaire has several algorithms for MRI analysis and Contextflow has an application for analysing one of the most difficult imaging domains.
#5 - Reinvigorating team spirit
Frederic Lambrechts – I can’t stress enough how incredibly important events such as #ECR2022 are to our development, not just as an AI platform specialist, but as a diverse team of passionate professionals. We work better when we leverage the fun and positive trends within our team and embrace ideas and best practices that make us better as a whole.
Prof. Dr. Erik Ranschaert - Attending this event gave me a much better insight into AI development when reviewed from different perspectives (such as educational, scientific advancement and business-related). I also echo Frederic’s sentiments that this was a fantastic teambuilding investment for us a business and will only serve to strengthen us as a team.
Denis Stappers - From a relationship perspective, #ECR2022 was a real success. Not only did I get to know the people and the trends of our industry a little better, but I was also able to get to know the diverse pool of talent we have at Osimis and really leverage their knowledge and input.
Dr. Sergey Morozov - I am truly blessed to have so many friends and colleagues in this industry. The community of professionals that attend #ECR2022 have been helping me develop professionally for almost 20 years, and now that I’m a part of the Osimis team I can continue that development and maintain an even broader network of contacts.
Thank you for reading! We hope our recap of #ECR2022 provided you with some interesting insights from this rewarding industry event or resonated your own experience, perhaps.
Let us know your key take-aways!
And if you would like to speak to one of our experts regarding the benefits of utilising the OSIMIS Platform in your clinical setting, please click here to start the conversation.
Or better yet, meet us at JFR 2022! https://jfr.radiologie.fr/
