Blackford Partner Riverain Technologies is dedicated to the early detection of lung disease. The company's software leverages patented image normalization and suppression technology to achieve robust solutions that generalize across different manufacturers devices and imaging protocols.
The Riverain suppression technology improves the detection of lung diseases and other clinical conditions via bone-suppressed X-ray images and vessel-suppressed CT series that remove challenging structures, making disease more visible and easier to identify.. We spoke to Steve Worrell, CEO of Riverain to find out a bit more about the company.
Blackford: What is your mission?
Steve Worrell: Riverain Technologies is a leading provider of healthcare AI tools marketed under the ClearRead brand. The company’s software helps to improve the detection of lung diseases and other clinical conditions. The patented, FDA-cleared solutions that make up the ClearRead suite are deployable in the clinic or in the Cloud and powered by the most advanced AI methods available to the medical imaging market. Our solutions are relied upon by leading healthcare institutions, including Duke University, Mayo Clinic, University of Chicago, University of Michigan, Veterans Affairs hospitals, and radiology reading groups.
Blackford: Tell us about the ClearRead products.
Steve Worrell: Our flagship X-ray product, ClearRead Xray, received FDA clearance in March 2010. Our latest product, ClearRead CT, uses deep learning technology and received FDA clearance in September 2016. It is the first concurrent-read, vendor-neutral AI application supporting all nodule types. ClearRead CT is a transformative, concurrent-read AI product that automatically detects and measures properties of solid, part-solid, and ground-glass nodules by leveraging patented vessel suppression technology. It has a demonstrated capability to improve efficiency (26% reduction in nodule search time*) and accuracy (29% reduction in missed nodules*). ClearRead Xray is the only solution providing high quality, bone-suppressed, soft-tissue imaging for chest X-rays. It leads to fewer missed nodules, with no additional radiation dose for patients.
Blackford: What sets you apart from everyone else?
Steve Worrell: Our software not only generates discrete findings about where a particular disease is, it also creates visually compelling images. Radiologists have remarkable skill and intuition when it comes to interpreting medical scans, and so the fact that our products generate highly interpretable images that augment interpretation is immediately appreciated.
Blackford: Why partner with Blackford?
Steve Worrell: The Blackford AI Imaging Platform offers a curated marketplace of regulatory cleared medical image analysis applications and AI algorithms that add clinical value on one platform for the consumption. It allows users to enjoy all the benefits the ClearRead solutions offer in an environment that provides increased workflow pertaining to navigating our content, as well as the ability to streamline these results for reporting purposes.
Blackford: Tell us a fun fact about your company.
Steve Worrell: Coffee. The addiction is real. Daily, indoor basketball competitions are a routine event to decide who makes the next pot of coffee.
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Lo, S. B., Freedman, M. T., Gillis, L. B., White, C. S., & Mun, S. K. (2018). JOURNAL CLUB: Computer-Aided Detection of Lung Nodules on CT with a Computerized Pulmonary Vessel Suppressed Function. American Journal of Roentgenology, 210(3), 480–488. doi: 10.2214/ajr.17.18718