Is a "normal" mammogram result enough to truly protect your health? What if your standard scan is missing crucial information that could predict your risk for both breast cancer and heart disease years in advance? This episode challenges the one-size-fits-all approach to medical imaging and explores the future of AI in radiology for personalized patient care. We uncover how machine learning is moving healthcare from a reactive model to a proactive one, where diseases are caught earlier and treatments are tailored to the individual, not the average.

In this installment of our Physician Innovators series, host Dr. Trevor Royce sits down with Dr. Sean Raj, a practicing radiologist and the Chief Innovation Officer and Chief Medical Officer at SimonMed Imaging. Dr. Raj breaks down how his team is pioneering this shift at one of the largest outpatient imaging practices in the nation. We dive deep into SimonMed's groundbreaking programs, which are redefining what patients can learn from a single imaging session. Dr. Raj explains the revolutionary "Mammogram Plus" program, which provides a highly personalized breast cancer screening by analyzing not just the image, but a patient's individual risk factors like breast density to provide actionable insights. We also explore the incredible innovation of detecting heart disease from mammograms—a capability that leverages the same scan to identify early signs of breast arterial calcifications, giving women a powerful two-for-one look at their health. The conversation also turns to the rising trend of proactive health screening with the whole body MRI for early detection. Dr. Raj details SimonMed's "simonONE" program, which utilizes advanced 3-Tesla MRI machines and AI to conduct comprehensive scans in as little as 30 minutes, finding silent diseases years before symptoms might appear. Throughout the discussion, Dr. Raj emphasizes the benefits of AI in medical imaging, from enhancing radiologist performance to making advanced diagnostics more affordable and accessible. This episode is a must-watch for anyone interested in the future of medicine, technology, and for aspiring physician innovators in health tech looking to make a scalable impact on patient outcomes.

About Our Guest:

Dr. Sean Raj is the Chief Innovation Officer at SimonMed Imaging. A practicing radiologist who completed his breast imaging fellowship at Harvard Medical School's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Dr. Raj is dedicated to integrating cutting-edge technology into clinical practice. He leads SimonMed's initiatives in evaluating and implementing new technologies like artificial intelligence, developing patient-centered research programs, and making proactive healthcare accessible and affordable on a national scale.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Introduction to Physician Innovators & Dr. Sean Raj

(02:20) Dr. Raj's Journey: From Medicine to Health Tech Innovation

(06:12) Mammogram Plus: Using AI for Personalized Breast and Heart Health

(11:02) Measuring Success: Patient Outcomes, Experience, and Scalability

(12:01) The Radiologist's Experience: Integrating AI into the Clinical Workflow

(15:52) Proactive Health Screening with the simonONE Whole Body MRI

(19:19) Balancing Innovation, Affordability, and Patient Access

(21:10) Enhancing Patient Understanding with Digital, Digestible Reports

(25:32) The Future of Radiology: Towards Proactive and Hyper-Personalized Care

(27:22) Advice for Aspiring Physician Innovators

Learn More From Our Guest / Episode Resources:

• Learn more about SimonMed Imaging
• Explore the simonONE Whole Body MRI
• Discover Mammogram Plus and Mammogram Plus Heart
• Check out Cascaid Health's digital reports