New Lantern, a pioneering startup founded in 2021, aims to revolutionize radiology workflows by automating a substantial portion of imaging processes, effectively creating what can be seen as an “AI radiology resident.” This ambitious initiative has already garnered significant attention and financial support, securing $23 million in funding led by well-known Bay Area venture capital firm Benchmark, which alone contributed $19 million in Series A financing. Eric Vishria, Benchmark’s general partner, will join New Lantern’s board of directors, further positioning the company for strategic growth. Presently, New Lantern’s cloud-native AI radiology suite automates about 25% of typical radiological tasks. With further development, the company hopes to more than triple this efficiency rate.
New Lantern’s Approach and Technological Integration
Addressing Outdated Systems
The founder and CEO of New Lantern, Shiva Suri, was inspired to create the startup after observing firsthand how his mother, a prominent radiologist, spent an inordinate amount of her workday on monotonous and repetitive tasks such as hand-drawing measurements and dictating reports. This observation highlighted a common pain point in the field, where professionals often find themselves bogged down by outdated Picture Archiving and Communication Systems (PACS) and reporting software, severely reducing the efficacy of their expertise. New Lantern’s AI platform is designed to tackle these inefficiencies head-on.
The New Lantern platform provides tools like single-click volumetric measurements and rapid AI-generated reports, significantly reducing the time radiologists spend on repetitive tasks. Notably, these adaptive protocols align with radiologists’ preferences, enhancing the overall workflow experience. By streamlining these mundane tasks, the AI platform promises to save radiologists up to 100 minutes per shift, which can equate to an annual increase in reimbursement by approximately $100,000 per physician. These technological integrations not only optimize time management but also allow radiologists to focus more on patient care and diagnostic accuracy, which are the core aspects of their profession.
Strategic Financial Backing and Growth
The recent funding round had several notable participants, including Afore Capital, Anthology Fund, Neo, and SV Angel. Alongside them were individual tech CEOs like Guillermo Rauch, Amjad Masad, Saji Wickramasekara, and Jay Kreps, indicating strong confidence in New Lantern’s vision and potential impact. The $23 million raised will predominantly be directed towards strengthening New Lantern’s research and development efforts, expanding their sales team, and enhancing their engineering capabilities to refine and scale their AI solutions further.
This strategic financial backing comes at a crucial juncture, enabling New Lantern to accelerate its mission and broaden its reach within the healthcare sector. With Eric Vishria joining the board of directors, the strategic direction of the company is expected to align more closely with technological advancements and market needs. Vishria’s involvement is anticipated to provide valuable insights and guidance, ensuring that New Lantern’s products are not only innovative but also pragmatically aligned with the operational realities of healthcare providers. By expanding its team and capabilities, New Lantern aims to stay at the cutting edge of AI-driven healthcare solutions, contributing significantly to the transformation of radiology practices worldwide.
The Future of Radiology with AI
Enhancing Efficiency and Reducing Burdens
New Lantern’s AI platform is strategically designed to address one of the most pressing issues in radiology today: inefficiency. Radiologists often struggle with outdated technology that hampers their productivity and forces them to spend a substantial portion of their day on tedious tasks. By integrating advanced AI, New Lantern plans to alleviate these burdens, allowing radiologists to focus on their primary role—interpreting scans and delivering expedited patient care. This shift not only enhances the professional satisfaction of radiologists but also optimizes revenue for practices through improved productivity.
The integration of AI in radiology is aimed at augmenting, rather than replacing, the expertise of human professionals. Eric Vishria from Benchmark emphasized that Shiva Suri’s approach wisely leverages AI to eliminate particularly tedious tasks, thereby enhancing radiologists’ performance and overall job satisfaction. By freeing up radiologists’ time, the AI platform enables them to deliver faster, more accurate diagnostics, ultimately benefiting patient outcomes significantly. The core idea is to create a symbiotic relationship between AI and human expertise, ensuring that medical professionals can concentrate on more complex and nuanced aspects of patient care.
Broader Impact and Industry Trends
The groundbreaking efforts of New Lantern aim to effectively create what might be called an “AI radiology resident.” The startup has already gained considerable attention and financial backing, securing $23 million in funding. Leading this investment is the well-known Bay Area venture capital firm Benchmark, which alone contributed $19 million in Series A financing. Benchmark’s general partner, Eric Vishria, will join New Lantern’s board of directors, setting the stage for strategic company growth.
Currently, New Lantern’s cloud-native AI radiology suite automates approximately 25% of conventional radiological tasks. With ongoing development, the company aspires to more than triple this automation rate, significantly boosting efficiency in radiology. This ambitious project not only promises to enhance radiology workflows but also aims to address the increasing demand for radiological services by utilizing advanced AI technology.
