Bayer and Inselspital Bern sign licensing agreement for medical imaging platform Calantic Digital Solutions

Berlin/Zürich – Bern, June 21, 2023 – Bayer today announced a licensing agreement for its medical imaging platform Calantic Digital Solutions with Inselspital, Bern University Hospital. The platform will provide the hospital with access to digital applications, including artificial intelligence (AI) enabled tools for medical imaging. The offering contains apps which aid radiologists and their teams to improve prioritization, lesion detection, quantification, and productivity, aiming to support healthcare professionals at various stages of their work, from diagnosis through treatment of their patients. Bayer will provide Inselspital Bern with services around installation, configuration, and training of the platform and its applications. In addition, Bayer and Inselspital will jointly generate real-world clinical evidence to show benefits of using AI, including benefits of deploying a platform to enable AI tools for medical imaging.

“AI has the potential to be a game-changer in healthcare and medical imaging”, said Prof. Roland Wiest, Deputy Director, Institute of Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology, Bern University Hospital and University of Bern and head of several educational initiatives in radiology to enable a wider use of AI-based technologies. The university hospital will install Calantic Digital Solutions in the coming months in the Institute for Diagnostic and Interventional Neuroradiology.

“As AI is making its way into radiology, we are looking forward to joining forces with renowned experts such as Inselspital Bern to drive its adoption in clinical practice,” said Gerd Krueger, President, Radiology, Bayer. “Building on a deep medical expertise across a multitude of diagnostic and therapeutic areas at Bayer, AI will continue to be a significant focus for us to help transform patient care.” 

“We are pleased to work with Inselspital Bern, one of the top University Hospitals in Switzerland and worldwide, on offering digital solutions that can help improve productivity and help improve patient outcomes,” said Lucia Fernandez Lopez, Head of Digital Solutions Business EMEA, Radiology, Bayer. “We are looking forward to working together with this renowned institution to prove the value of Calantic Digital Solutions to Radiology and the entire health system.” 

About AI in Medical Imaging
The overall global medical imaging AI field with sales of more than USD 400 million in 2021 is expected to continue growing dynamically, with an estimated compounded annual growth rate of more than 26 percent reaching USD 1.36 billion by 2026.1 Innovation powered by AI is needed more than ever. Aging populations and changing lifestyles are leading to an increase in chronic conditions, such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. Consequently, the demand for medical imaging to detect diseases, guide treatment decisions and support therapy planning is growing. AI comes with the value proposition to aid diagnosis and increase the throughput of radiological examinations.

This is particularly important because time pressure and workload contribute to the prevalence of burn-out among radiologists. Aggravating this situation, there is a shortage of trained radiologists.2 In addition, publications show that the rate of diagnostic errors rises with long hours of overtime: a publication from 2018 speaks of approximately 40 million diagnostic errors involving imaging worldwide every year.3 Digital technologies can help manage the mounting workload of radiologists and their teams, ultimately striving to improve patient care.

About CalanticTM Digital Solutions
CalanticTM Digital Solutions is a suite of digital radiology AI-enabled applications which assist radiologists and their teams at critical steps within a patient’s treatment journey. The vendor-neutral, cloud-hosted platform includes a growing number of applications designed to aid in prioritization, lesion detection and quantification, as well as apps that automate routine tasks and measurements, improve the radiology suites’ workflow, and free up time for radiologists and their teams. The offering is orchestrated by body region, initially focusing on thoracic and neurological diseases. Bayer recently announced new collaboration agreements with app developers to broaden the already available options on the platform by including tools which aim to aid in cardiac, breast and prostate imaging. 

About Radiology at Bayer 
As a true life-science company with a heritage of over 100 years in Radiology, Bayer is committed to providing excellence, from innovative products to high-quality services, to support efficient and optimized patient care. Bayer offers a leading portfolio of contrast media for computed tomography (CT), X-Ray, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), devices for their precise administration, informatics solutions and a medical imaging platform delivering access to applications, including those enabled by AI. Bayer’s Radiology products generated close to €2bn sales in 2022. Based on the company’s ambition to outperform the radiology market’s average annual growth rate of 5% by 2030, Bayer is highly committed to research and development, which includes leveraging artificial intelligence and driving innovation in medical imaging. Each of these offerings provides effective tools to support radiologists in their mission to deliver treatment-critical answers and a clear direction – from diagnosis to care.

Contact for media requiries:
Barbara Zimmermann
Phone: 079 307 62 52
E-Mail: barbara.zimmermann@bayer.com

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