Vienna, Austria, 25 November 2024: contextflow, a leader in building comprehensive computer-aided detection support for lung cancer, ILD, and COPD, is breaking ground with IKK Südwest, a forward-thinking health insurance company in Germany. This agreement, facilitated through the Healthy Hub initiative, marks a pivotal moment in the integration of AI technology within healthcare systems, with the goal to improve patient outcomes by enabling efficient and early detection of lung cancer.
A Step Forward for AI in Lung Cancer Diagnostics
contextflow develops AI-based software to assist radiologists in evaluating the three main causes of premature death - lung cancer, lung diseases, and heart disease. Specific to this new partnership, malignancy scoring from partner RevealDx (integrated into contextflow ADVANCE Chest CT) plays a starring role. This feature enables radiologists to detect lung cancer up to one year sooner with significantly higher accuracy. By providing more accurate early detection of lung cancer, contextflow could help reduce healthcare costs by avoiding unnecessary procedures, such as biopsies and follow-up scans. This benefits radiologists by providing faster, more accurate reports that could potentially improve patient outcomes, while insurers like IKK Südwest can save resources by avoiding unnecessary medical procedures.
IKK Südwest and contextflow Encourage AI Adoption in Radiology
This milestone is part of a broader effort spearheaded by the Healthy Hub, a joint venture involving four health insurance companies in Germany, which fosters the adoption of state-of-the-art medical devices. IKK Südwest, along with imaging provider Xcare and integrated care provider MEDIQX health management GmbH, is leading the charge by integrating AI-powered reporting solutions for radiologists into Germany’s healthcare system. Together, these partnerships are transforming radiologists’ reporting capabilities and advancing the integration of AI in healthcare, ultimately enhancing patient care and operational efficiency. Under the new agreement, IKK Südwest will pay a per-exam fee for each chest CT scan, shared between contextflow and the imaging provider.
"With the support of Healthy Hub and IKK Südwest, we’re forging new paths by creating a radiology-specific reimbursement model that prioritizes quality care through advanced AI diagnostics. Our goal is to improve patient outcomes by making comprehensive and reliable lung cancer and disease detection accessible to radiologists. In turn, this enables more precise and proactive detection, which helps enhance operational efficiency and reduce unnecessary costs across the healthcare system" said Markus Holzer, CEO at contextflow.
contextflow’s AI-driven technology enables radiologists to track lung nodules over time, assess malignancy, and generate high quality reports with increased confidence and consistency. This technology offers objective image analysis that reduces false positives and negatives, addressing common challenges associated with traditional tools.
A Year of Growth and Recognition
The reimbursement agreement comes at a critical time for contextflow, which has experienced steady strategic growth over the past year. The company has secured partnerships with major players like Blackford Analysis and NeoLogica, and its product offerings have expanded to include innovative features like malignancy scoring and incidental pulmonary embolism detection. contextflow has also received recognition for its contributions to healthtech, including being named one of Newsweek’s World’s Best Digital Health Companies for 2024 and ranking #18 on Trend.at’s top 100 Austrian startups list.
“By entering into this reimbursement agreement, contextflow is not just addressing a local challenge but is also laying an important foundation for AI-supported diagnostics to be widely adopted across Germany,” says Florian Brandt, Health Innovation Manager at IKK Südwest. “AI is set to become a vital tool for enhancing healthcare outcomes rather than a "nice-to-have," signaling a needed change in the healthcare industry,” adds Daniel Schilling, board member of IKK Südwest.
Looking ahead, contextflow plans to expand its reach through strategic partnerships and continued product innovation, cementing its place at the forefront of the AI radiology revolution. As reimbursement codes become more common, the application of AI in radiology will only accelerate with the potential to transform reporting accuracy and healthcare efficiency worldwide.
Join contextflow at RSNA 2024
Date: December 1-4, 2024
Location: McCormick Place, Chicago, USA
Booth: 5952 (RevealDx), AI Showcase - South Hall Level 3
Connect with contextflow’s experts to experience live demonstrations and explore how they are shaping the future of lung cancer screening and detection through advanced AI technology. Don’t miss the opportunity to see firsthand how contextflow’s innovations can impact patient care!
Book a meeting with contextflow at RSNA here:
https://demo-contextflow.zohobookings.eu/#/142682000002056414
contextflow is a spin-off of the Medical University of Vienna (MUW) and European research project KHRESMOI, supported by the Technical University of Vienna (TU). Founded by a team of AI and engineering experts in July 2016, the company has a strong interest in bringing state-of-the-art machine learning techniques for medical imaging to the healthcare market. Its computer-aided detection software ADVANCE Chest CT supports radiologists in the evaluation of lung cancer, ILD and COPD. contextflow's technology is CE Marked and available for clinical use within Europe under the new MDR.
Visit contextflow.com for more information.
