Philips Gets FDA Clearance for AI-Powered and MRI-Enhancing SmartSpeed Software

Offering the potential of enhanced resolution with accelerated scan times for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), SmartSpeed (Philips), an emerging artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled software, has garnered FDA 510(k) clearance.

In comparison to other MRI modalities, Philips said the addition of SmartSpeed to the company’s Compressed SENSE MR acceleration engine offers a threefold reduction in MRI scanning time and increases image resolution up to 65 percent.

“Philips’ AI-based SmartSpeed reconstruction is the new benchmark among acceleration techniques for us. It improves on the company’s existing Compressed SENSE (MR acceleration engine) in all aspects and allows a reduction in scan times with excellent image quality and diagnostic confidence,” noted Grischa Bratke, MD, who is affiliated with the Department of Radiology at the University Hospital of Cologne in Germany.

Philips noted that application of the AI reconstruction algorithm with SmartSpeed at the front end of the MR signal facilitates a high signal-to-noise ratio that enhances image quality and enables small lesion detection.

Adding that the SmartSpeed software can be applied in 97 percent of current clinical protocols, Philips emphasized the utility of the software in quantitative MR imaging including mapping of the heart, liver, and brain.