icometrix: AI-Powered Standardized Brain Imaging Analysis Transforming Care for Neurological Patients

Human cognitive abilities decline with age, and this decline is associated with changes in brain anatomy.

Over the past two decades, with the rapid development of medical imaging,Morphological analysis of brain tissue has become an important diagnostic method for neurological disorders.For example, diagnosing epilepsy by assessing changes in cerebellar volume, and diagnosing Parkinson’s disease (PD) or Alzheimer’s disease (AD) by assessing changes in hippocampal volume.

However, MRI image analysis is a time-consuming process, as MRI data must undergo extensive processing before it can be used to analyze natural aging. Preprocessing steps include removing non-brain tissues such as the skull from the images; segmenting white matter, gray matter, and other tissues; and eliminating image artifacts along with applying various data smoothing techniques. The processing time for these data may exceed 24 hours, making it difficult for clinicians to incorporate patients’ brain age into clinical diagnosis.

icometrix, based in Leuven, Belgium, is leveraging AI solutions to perform standardized measurements of patients’ brain MRI scans, enabling clinicians to achieve rapid and accurate diagnoses.

icometrix, founded in 2011, is a healthcare services company that provides standardized measurements of patients’ brain MRI scans for clinicians.

With the support of artificial intelligence technology, the company strives to achieveData Insights and Personalized Patient Care to Deliver a Suite of AI Solutions, helping the healthcare sector address various challenges posed by neurological disorders, such as multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, epilepsy, stroke, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease.

icometrix extracts clinically meaningful data from patients’ brain MRI and CT scans, transforming the care of individuals with brain diseases and injuries. To dateHas participated in more than 100 clinical trials, supporting pharmaceutical companies in conducting Phase I–III clinical studies and real-world evidence (RWE) research.

Wim Van Hecke, Co-founder and CEO of icometrixHe is an international expert in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) analysis and advanced neuroimaging technologies and applications. Wim completed his Master’s degree in Physics Engineering at Ghent University, subsequently earned a Master’s degree in Biomedical Imaging from the University of Antwerp, and obtained his Ph.D. in diffusion MRI analysis at Antwerp University Hospital in 2009.

Wim is also the author or co-author of more than 150 scientific publications, has received numerous scientific awards, and is frequently invited to share his expertise at courses, conferences, and hospitals around the world.

In 2019, icometrix completed an $18 million Series A financing round, led by Forestay Capital, with participation from Capricorn Partners and Optum Ventures. The company’s previous funding round took place in 2016, raising $2 million. To date, icometrix has raised a total of $20.2 million across two rounds of financing to support the continued development of its technology.

Frederic Wohlwend, Managing Partner at Forestay Capital, stated: “Forestay is delighted to collaborate with the management team at icometrix. This technology is transforming how we diagnose, monitor, and treat patients with brain disorders, and we can see its potential to enhance neurological diagnostics by making the complex diagnostic and therapeutic journey faster and more effective for every patient.”

Heather Roxborough, Partner at Optum Ventures, stated, “We firmly believe that data can effectively aid in the diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of neurological disorders. Through icometrix’s innovative AI-based brain imaging solutions, clinicians and radiologists worldwide can help improve the lives of millions of patients with brain diseases.”

On October 2, 2019, CB Insights released its inaugural list of the Global Top 150 Digital Health Companies, recognizing icometrix for its leading achievements in artificial intelligence for brain imaging and including it on the list.

icometrix’s core product—icobrain software has obtained the CE mark and FDA clearance, capable of extracting clinically meaningful information from brain MRI and CT scans of patients with neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, and traumatic brain injury. The icobrain AI solution has been deployed in more than 120 hospitals and imaging centers worldwide, and clinical studies have been conducted by four of the top five pharmaceutical companies.

icobrain Interface

icobrain software can increase scanning speed by 40%, to optimize detection sensitivity and consistency throughTracking Brain Activity to Enable Early Diagnosis, Disease Prediction, and Monitoring of Treatment Response, enhancing communication between physicians and patients through disease-specific templates and intuitive reports.

Wim Van Hecke, CEO of icometrix, stated, “icobrain enables faster, more consistent, and precise interpretation of medical images by quantifying the volumes of brain structures and abnormalities. Approximately one-third of the population suffers from brain disorders, often caused by chronic conditions, imposing a substantial burden on patients, friends, family members, caregivers, and society. Brain scans play a central role in patient diagnosis and monitoring, creating significant demand for targeted assessment tools like icobrain for MRI and CT brain imaging.”

icometrix, with its icobrain software as the core, adds multiple product portfolios to provide imaging AI solutions for patients with neurological diseases., to help medical professionals quantify treatment guidelines.

Powered by the company’s artificial intelligence technology, icobrain ms assists clinicians in assessing clinical disease activity in patients with multiple sclerosis; icobrain dm accelerates the diagnosis of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease; icobrain tbi provides standardized and quantitative interpretation of brain scans for patients with traumatic brain injury; and icobrain ep enables faster, more sensitive, and personalized assessment of brain MRI scans, helping clinicians make quicker and more reliable treatment decisions for patients with epilepsy.

"Every expansion of our icobrain portfolio is designed to meet the clinical needs of patients with neurological disorders, as we strive to continuously improve patient care outcomes," said Wim.

In February 2021, icometrix announced the addition of its stroke solution, icobrain cva, to the icobrain portfolio, providing physicians with rapid, automated analytical results to support treatment decision-making for acute ischemic stroke, thereby further enriching the icobrain product portfolio.

"The main challenge with current stroke solutions is correctly identifying the entry point of the contrast agent in the brain. icobrain cva introduces the latest deep learning technology into the identification process, enabling a more precise assessment of the infarcted area," explained Dirk Smeets, Chief Technology Officer at icometrix.

In February 2019, Affidea and icometrix announced a strategic partnership to further standardize and improve care for patients with neurological disorders in Europe.

Affidea, a leading provider of advanced diagnostic imaging services based in Europe, will offer icometrix’s icobrain portfolio of imaging AI solutions to patients across Europe.

“AI medical imaging systems can help radiologists automate routine procedures and identify subtle changes and patterns,” said Giuseppe Recchi, CEO of Affidea. “Thus, icobrain will make doctors’ diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up more efficient, enabling radiologists and neurologists to leverage AI technology to quantify patients’ MRI and CT scan results and track brain abnormalities.”

Affidea is a European provider of diagnostic imaging, outpatient care, and cancer care services, with operations spanning 16 countries across Europe. The Affidea Group employs over 7,500 professionals, operates more than 1,300 diagnostic and cancer care facilities, and conducts nearly 13 million diagnostic examinations annually.

In February 2021, icometrix partnered with the Canadian health technology company UpCare Partners & Associates, appointing it as the Canadian distributor for the icobrain suite and the icompanx platform to support icometrix’s continued global growth.

In April 2018, icobrain had already received marketing approval in Canada and Japan. It is understood that both countries are facing severe challenges from dementia. By 2031, Canada is projected to have nearly 1 million dementia cases, while Japan is expected to reach 7 million cases by 2025.

In June 2021, icometrix announced a collaboration with Aidoc to provide clinicians with a comprehensive stroke patient triage solution.

Aidoc is a company that develops AI software for whole-body imaging, dedicated to helping radiologists detect abnormalities in patient image data through AI algorithms and provide comprehensive solutions after medical analysis, thereby saving radiologists' time and energy. Its solutions have been sold to more than 500 medical centers worldwide.

Stroke is the second leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Due to continuous population growth and aging, the prevalence of stroke is constantly increasing, making it self-evident how important it is to monitor stroke case fatality rate, incidence rate, and recurrence rate.

“We are honored to provide the icobrain portfolio and icolung solutions to more than 400 medical centers worldwide. Our partnership with Aidoc enables clinicians to access state-of-the-art, end-to-end AI stroke solutions, thereby improving patient care outcomes,” said Jennifer Young, CCO of icometrix. “This collaboration serves as an excellent example of how different technologies can be synergistically integrated into a single solution to impact the lives of patients around the world.”