Study confirms iCAD's Breast Arterial Calcification AI Algorithm successfully detects calcification of breast vessels, an indicator of cardiovascular disease, from mammograms

NASHUA, N.H., April  08, 2024  (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- iCAD, Inc. (NASDAQ: ICAD), a global leader in clinically proven AI-powered cancer detection solutions, announced today that new data indicates its AI-powered solution effectively uncovers calcium deposits in the breast vessels, a sign of possible cardiovascular disease in women. iCAD research collaborator Chirag Parghi, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Solis Mammography, presented the findings at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) annual meeting taking place April 6 - 8, 2024, in Atlanta, GA.

For the study, Dr. Parghi and his team included mammograms from a multiracial cohort of 117,189 women, using iCAD's ProFound AI Heart Healthi solution, specifically designed for Breast Arterial Calcification (BAC) detection. The 15-site prospective study included 2D screening mammograms from women ages 20 to 100, with a median age of 56.

"The ProFound BAC AI algorithm may provide a critical surrogate biomarker for women at risk of heart disease or stroke," said Dana Brown, president and CEO of iCAD. "We are thrilled to be able to collaborate with Solis Mammography on this state-of-the-art software that gives women the power of knowing—earlier—if they are at potential risk of heart disease during a routine screening mammogram. This provides women valuable information that may lead to obtaining additional cardiovascular screening. We anticipate that ProFound Heart Health will positively impact cardiovascular disease prevention for women as iCAD's ProFound Detection and Risk solutions do for breast cancer."

Analyzing the data of the prospective study involving 117,189 women, Dr. Parghi and his team found the overall prevalence of BAC (score >1) was 14.8%. Prevalence increased with age, with a 4.2% prevalence in women under 50 years old, 9.0% in women aged 50-59, 19.9% in women in the 60-69 year-old age group, and 40.7% in women 70 years and above. Future work includes tracking patients longitudinally to identify associated cardiovascular risk factors and guiding primary care physicians in managing patients with detected BAC. The study also suggests the ProFound Heart Health AI algorithm can standardize BAC detection, potentially improving efficiency and reducing variability among observers. These findings also align with previous literature emphasizing the association between BAC and cardiovascular risk, underscoring potential opportunity of BAC detection on screening mammography for women's health.

"Artificial Intelligence software can be used to detect breast arterial calcifications with high accuracy," said Dr. Parghi. "With this tool, we will be able to identify patients that can benefit from additional cardiovascular screening, potentially intervening before adverse outcomes manifest. To be able to have one screening mammogram unveil meaningful insights for two of the leading causes of death for women – breast cancer and heart disease – is remarkable."

"At present, radiologists must rely on visual detection of breast arterial calcifications, which is time-consuming and leads to consistent underreporting of BAC results," continued Dr. Parghi. "With an AI algorithm accurately identifying BAC, we will see more consistent BAC detection and reporting, which will ultimately benefit patients the most."

Recent research shows that calcium deposits inside the blood vessels of the breast correlate to hardening of the cardiovascular arteries, and women with BAC are 51% more likely to develop heart disease. Early cardiovascular disease detection is key, as among asymptomatic women, the first manifestation of underlying coronary heart disease is often acute myocardial infarction (MI) or sudden death. Although women tend to have a lower burden of obstructive coronary artery disease on angiography, they typically have a worse prognosis after MI compared with men.