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John R. Fischer, Senior Reporter | March 24, 2023
The FDA has given the nod to Viz.ai to deploy its detection algorithm for abdominal aortic aneurysms, Viz AAA, to tip clinicians off to patients at imminent risk of a rupture.
Appearing as a bulge in the abdominal aorta, abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) can cause fatal ruptures if not detected or treated. Using AI, Viz AAA assesses CT angiography from any hospital network scanner for its presence.
“There are an estimated 1.1 million Americans living with an AAA. The majority of these patients are asymptomatic, and many are unaware of their disease until a rupture occurs. This is a catastrophic medical emergency, resulting in over 10,000 deaths each year,” said Dr. Philip Batista, associate program director of vascular and endovascular surgery residency at Cooper University Health Care in New Jersey, in a statement.
Viz AAA will be part of the Viz AORTIC Module, an AI platform that accelerates treatment decisions for all aortic-related diseases, and can be integrated into existing hospital workflows.
Based in San Francisco, Viz.ai’s platform leverages algorithms to identify various diseases in more than 220 million patients at over 1,300 hospitals in the U.S. and Europe.
The company submitted its 510(k) application for the AAA algorithm in January
when it launched its Viz Vascular Suite, an AI-powered software for automatically detecting and triaging suspected pulmonary embolisms. Upon identifying an abnormal scan, the Viz Vascular Suite alerts and displays high-fidelity scans on the appropriate specialist’s mobile device, regardless of their location.
Viz.ai is working with leading hospitals like Cooper and TriHealth in Cincinnati to deploy Viz AAA into their clinical workflows.
“The vision behind Viz AAA is to automatically catch and follow abdominal aortic disease, no matter the patient’s location. We believe that this product will enable care teams to prevent catastrophic aortic emergencies, such as aortic rupture, by increasing the surveillance of these patients,” said Jayme Strauss, chief clinical officer at Viz.ai, in a statement.
