Smart Medicine

We Shrunk the MRI! 🚑🧠 The Axana System & Resonant Benchtop MRI | Smart Medicine Podcast

What if a life-saving stroke diagnosis could happen in the back of an ambulance? In this episode of Smart Medicine, Dr. Ali Fatemi sits down with medical physicist and entrepreneur Dr. Sergei Obruchkov to discuss the radical hardware innovations his companies are bringing to the MRI world. In this episode, we shine a spotlight on two game-changing products: 🧲 The Axana System: We discuss his spin-off company's flagship product, Axana—a 30-kilo, fully portable head MRI. Dr. Obruchkov explains the incredible engineering behind it, including how they used AI to map stroke anatomy and borrowed tech from the oil and gas industry to remove heavy conventional gradients entirely. The goal? To put an Axana system in ambulances so we can detect time-critical "wake-up strokes" instantly. 🏫 Resonant's 8-Kilo MRI: We also explore his company, Resonant, which builds tiny, 8-kilo benchtop MRI machines. Dr. Obruchkov shares his bold vision to put one of these systems in every high school to demystify medical imaging and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers. If you love deep-tech, AI, and medical engineering, hit play to see how these unique products are changing the game! Don't forget to like, subscribe, and drop a comment below: Could a benchtop MRI have changed your high school science experience?

Leadership, AI, and the Future of Medical Physics with AAPM Executive Director David Gammel

Welcome to another episode of Smart Medicine! Hosted by clinical medical physicist Dr. Ali Fatemi, this episode features a special interview with David Gammel, Executive Director of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM). In this conversation, we dive deep into how the medical physics community is preparing for the rapid advancements of AI and computational medicine. We explore the challenges and opportunities of leading a major scientific society through an era of profound technological change, while supporting members across all stages of their careers. Key highlights from this episode include: * The AAPM Digital Reset: Discover how AAPM is retiring 20 years of technical debt and custom software to adopt modern, best-in-class platforms for its members. * AI in the Clinic: We discuss the future of AI tools and LLMs in medical physics, including the potential for highly accurate chatbots that can deliver relevant clinical guidelines, TGs, and MPGs directly to your phone during QA processes. * The Expanding Role of the Physicist: As some traditional tasks are automated, medical physicists are uniquely positioned to oversee AI, commissioning, and validation in clinical environments. * Data as the Foundation of AI: A look at successful public-private partnerships like MIDRC, which are solving the challenge of secure, anonymized data sharing to train FDA-approved AI models. * The Mission: Everything AAPM does ultimately ties back to one crucial goal: improving health through physics. Whether you are a student, a clinical physicist, or a researcher, this episode offers an incredible look at where our discipline is headed. Don't forget to like, subscribe, and share your thoughts in the comments! I

AI in Radiology at the University of Louisville | Dr. Ramin Hamidi, Neuroradiologist

Welcome to another episode of Smart Medicine! Today, host Dr. Ali Fatemi (Clinical Medical Physicist & Founder of SpenTex and PrecisionM.ai) is joined by Dr. Ramin Hamid, an Assistant Professor of Neuroradiology at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. With a unique background spanning neuroradiology and an MBA in healthcare operations.Dr. Hamid shares fascinating insights into how Artificial Intelligence is revolutionizing the reading room and beyond.In this episode, we dive deep into the reality of AI in medicine—clarifying that AI doesn't "think" or "understand," but rather acts as a powerful statistical weighting machine for pattern recognitionKey Topics Covered in this Episode:What AI Is (and Isn't): Why we should treat AI like a "bicycle for the mind" and how it acts as an explainable tool to highlight areas of concern, such as blood inside or outside the brain.AI Workflow Integration: How AI can optimize patient care prior to imaging (NLP for protocol selection), during acquisition, and post-imaging (flagging critical issues like pneumothorax or large vessel occlusions).Patient Perspectives: A University of Louisville study revealing that patients are actually willing to pay for AI integration—if it improves detection and outcomes.The Future of Diagnostics & Personalized Medicine: Using AI to predict disease vectors, diagnose Alzheimer's, and screen for learning disorders like dyslexia or autism from MRI scans.Training the Next Generation: How AI can simulate emergency environments to rapidly train medical residents on rare pathologies.The Power of Teamwork: The importance of eliminating "silos" and fostering consultation between clinicians, medical physicists, and technologists.Topics- Introduction to Dr. Ramin Hamid- What AI Actually Is: Steve Jobs' Bicycle Analogy- How AI is Used Pre, During, and Post-Imaging- Explainable AI: Spotting Strokes, Fractures & Hemorrhages- Do Patients Want AI? (UofL Study Results)- Using AI to Screen for Alzheimer's & Autism- The Role of Medical Physicists & Breaking Healthcare Silos- The Next 5-10 Years: The Era of Personalized Medicine

Radiation Oncology Leadership in the AI Era | Dr. Percy Lee (City of Hope)

Today’s guest is Dr. Percy Lee, Senior Physician Executive and Medical Director of Radiation Oncology (Orange County) at City of Hope, and Vice Chair of Clinical Research. Dr. Lee is a nationally recognized leader in radiation oncology, with extensive experience building and scaling clinical programs, integrating research into practice, and expanding access to high-quality cancer care. His leadership journey includes key roles at MD Anderson and UCLA, where he helped shape one of the leading SBRT and residency programs in the U.S. In this conversation, we explore: * What it really takes to build and scale successful radiation oncology programs * How to separate meaningful innovation from hype in cancer care * Where AI and smart technologies will realistically impact clinical workflows * How physician leadership has evolved—and what skills matter most today * The biggest opportunities and risks facing radiation oncology * Practical advice for trainees and early-career clinicians aiming to lead responsibly This discussion is a clear look at how leadership, technology, and clinical reality must align to drive real impact in cancer care.

Smart Medicine Podcast | Prof. Nico Van Den Berg — Computational MRI, AI, and the Future of Image-Guided Therapy

In this episode, I speak with Professor Nico Van Den Berg, Director of the Centre of Image Science at UMC Utrecht and Scientific Co-Lead of the IMAGINE Consortium—one of the leading voices at the intersection of MR physics, computational imaging, and AI-driven clinical translation. We explore how MRI is evolving from a hardware-driven modality into a computational and intelligent system, and what this means for the future of diagnostics and therapy. Key topics we discuss: • From MRI physics to computational imaging How Nico’s journey shaped his vision for integrating physics, computation, and clinical workflows. • What “computational imaging” really means in MRI How reconstruction, acquisition, and processing are being redefined—and where this creates real clinical impact. • MR-Linac: promise vs reality Why it’s one of the most advanced technologies in radiation oncology—and why adoption still faces barriers. • AI and autonomous imaging What is realistic in the next 5–10 years, where AI is already delivering value today, and the risks of using AI without strong physics grounding. • Image-guided interventions & the IMAGINE Consortium The infrastructure and computational challenges behind making advanced interventions scalable and clinically relevant. • RF engineering, safety, and translation to clinic Why safety, implants, and system-level understanding remain critical as MRI moves deeper into therapy. • The future of MRI Will intelligence reshape hardware, pulse sequences, and workflows? What does this mean for adaptive radiotherapy? • Advice for the next generation What young physicists should focus on to stay relevant in an AI-driven era. This conversation highlights a central theme: AI alone is not enough—true progress in medical imaging requires deep integration of physics, computation, and clinical insight. #SmartMedicine #MedicalPhysics #MRI #AIinMedicine #ComputationalImaging #MRLinac #Radiology #RadiationOncology #ImageGuidedTherapy #DigitalHealth