Imaging Informatics Unplugged
A podcast about medical imaging informatics, hosted by Jason Nagels. It covers interoperability standards such as DICOM, HL7, and FHIR, as well as AI innovations and enterprise imaging. Features discussions and expert interviews on healthcare technology integration. Aimed at both professionals and newcomers to the field.
Episodes
Hack the PACS: DICOM, Ransomware, and the Future of Healthcare Cybersecurity | Dr. Benoit Desjardins
What happens when a radiologist, a former hacker, and a cybersecurity leader live in the same person? You get Dr. Benoit Desjardins, and this conversation is one of the most eye-opening we've had on Imaging Informatics Unplugged. Benoit is a Professor of Radiology at the University of Montreal and the first Chief Medical Cybersecurity Officer in Canada at CHUM. He's a consultant for the FB
Why Reading Rooms Should Copy Aircraft Cockpits, Not the Other Way Around | Les Folio
Dr. Les Folio has one of the most unusual resumes you'll hear on this show. Before he ever read a scan, he was a volunteer firefighter who got burned on his first field fire, a drummerwho hauled his gear around in a hearse, and an X-ray tech who got hooked watching a CT scanner run its first head scan back in 1977. He spent 20 years in the Air Force as a colonel, deploying to some of the busiest c
Why Shazam and Your MRI Scanner Are Secretly Doing the Same Math | Jason Nagels
Quick one this week: no guest, just me and a question that's been rattling around my head for a while. Does Shazam actually hear the song it's identifying? Short answer: no, not even a little. And once you understand what it's actually doing instead, you won't look at your MRI scanner or your ultrasound machine the same way again.This is a solo lecture episode where I trace one piece of math, the
Enterprise Imaging Interoperability: DICOM, FHIR, PACS and VNA Data Sharing | Michael Rosenberg
Michael Rosenberg has spent the last decade obsessed with a problem most of healthcare IT would rather not think about: how do you get a medical image from one institution to another, safely and without a human babysitting every step? An industrial and systems engineer by training, Michael cofounded Medicom Technologies in 2015 out of North Carolina State University, and as CEO he and his team bui
ClearCanvas, Open-Source PACS, and the Future of Imaging Informatics | Norman Young
Norman Young has spent 25 years building software at the intersection of imaging and medicine, but the story behind his work starts with his own diagnosis. In 1992, as a third-year engineering student at the University of Toronto, Norman was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, an experience that reshaped the rest of his career. After working on eFilm, one of the first free PACS viewers, at Universi
Task Shifting & Radiology IT: How Nunavut Closed Its Imaging Access Gap | Greg Toffner
What happens when a remote Arctic community with zero medical radiation technologists needs a chest x-ray — and the nearest one is a plane ride away? In this special crossover episode with SIIMCast, Jason and Mohannad sit down with Greg Toffner, a PhD researcher training local Inuit community members across 25 Nunavut communities to become Basic Radiological Technicians (BRTs). Greg breaks down th
AI Coding, DICOM Sync & the Future of PACS | Chris Hafey
What happens when a 25-year medical imaging veteran retires, then comes back with an AI coding assistant and rebuilds his entire mental model of how PACS gets built? Chris Hafey, founder of Merkalis and longtime fixture in the imaging informatics community, joins Imaging Informatics Unplugged to talk about coding with Claude and other LLMs, why he believes solo founders can now out-build 50-person
Why VNAs Were Never Really About Storage — And What That Means for AI | Larry Sitka
If you've ever fought through a PACS migration, wrestled with malformed DICOM data, or wondered why two systems that supposedly speak the same standard can't talk to each other — this one's for you.Jason sits down with Larry Sitka, founder of Acuo Technologies and one of the earliest architects of the Vendor Neutral Archive (VNA) concept, to unpack three decades of building enterprise
Digital Pathology Display Standards: Why Medical Monitors Change Diagnostic Accuracy | Tom Kimpe
If your digital pathology deployment has a brand-new whole-slide scanner, a solid IMS, and petabytes of storage — but your pathologists are reading on consumer monitors — you may have a serious problem you haven't budgeted for yet.In this episode of Imaging Informatics Unplugged, Jason sits down with Tom Kimpe, VP of Technology & Innovation for Healthcare at Barco, for a deep-dive webinar
AI in Radiology: Benchmarking LLMs, Agentic Hype, and Imaging Informatics | Satvik Tripathi
If you have ever watched a radiology AI demo hit 98% accuracy in testing and then wonder why nobody is actually using it in the clinic, this episode is for you. Hit subscribe so you never miss a conversation like this one.Jason sits down with Satvik Tripathi, incoming Medical Physics and Imaging Informatics PhD student at the University of Pennsylvania, AI scientist for RAD-AID International, and
CIIP Exam Prep: Where to Start, What to Study, and How to Qualify
Thinking about the CIIP, but have no clue where to start?This video breaks down the exam, the eligibility rules, the 10 domains, and the smartest way to figure out what you actually need to study before wasting time. If you work in imaging informatics, PACS, VNA, radiology IT, enterprise imaging, clinical engineering, or healthcare technology, this gives you a practical starting point.In this vide
AI in Radiology: Adoption, Bias, Interoperability, Federated Learning and What Comes Next
How close is AI to real clinical adoption in radiology and medical imaging?In this episode of Imaging Informatics Unplugged, Jason Nagels talks with Dr. Khaled Younis about where AI and machine learning really stand today in radiology, why adoption is still uneven, and what needs to happen next.Dr. Younis brings deep experience across AI research, clinical imaging, and global standards. You can le
AI in Radiology: Hype vs Reality, Imaging AI, Workflow, and Clinical Adoption | Dr. Ben Fine
Is radiology AI finally living up to the hype — or are we still waiting for the revolution Geoff Hinton promised back in 2012? In this episode of Imaging Informatics Unplugged, Jason sits down with Dr. Ben Fine, a radiologist with a deep background in imaging informatics, AI deployment, and enterprise imaging strategy.Ben shares a refreshingly honest take on where radiology AI actually stands toda
The Beatles, EMI, and the Birth of CT Scanning | Imaging Informatics Unplugged
What do The Beatles have to do with the invention of the CT scanner?At first glance… nothing.By the time CT scanning was introduced in the early 1970s, The Beatles had already broken up. But the connection between one of the most influential bands in history and one of the most important technologies in modern medicine runs through a company called EMI.In this episode, we explore the surprising st
AI in Radiology Explained: From Pilot Projects to Real Clinical Deployment | Dr. Franz Pfister
AI in healthcare is everywhere — but very little of it actually works in real clinical environments.In this episode of Imaging Informatics Unplugged, Jason Nagels sits down with Dr. Franz Pfister, physician, data scientist, and CEO of deepc, to discuss what it really takes to operationalize AI in radiology and healthcare workflows.They explore why model accuracy alone isn’t enough, how hospitals d
Dermatology Imaging Informatics & AI: Data, Context and Clinical Reality | Dr. Veronica Rotemberg
Artificial intelligence is rapidly entering dermatology — but what does it actually take to make AI work in real clinical practice?In this episode of Imaging Informatics Unplugged, Jason Nagels sits down with Dr. Veronica Rotemberg, Director of Dermatology Informatics and Research at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, to explore how dermatology is navigating AI, data quality, and real-world i
Inside the DICOM Toolkit: How Medical Imaging Actually Works | John Hally
If you work in medical imaging, DICOM is everywhere — even when you don’t see it.In this episode of Imaging Informatics Unplugged, Jason Nagels sits down with John Hally, Product Leader for Cloud and Technical Platforms at Merge, to break down what DICOM toolkits really do and why they matter more than ever as imaging expands beyond radiology.John brings over 15 years of medical imaging technical
Interactive Multimedia Reporting: Standards, AI, & the Future of Reporting | Dr. Seth Berkowitz
In this episode of Imaging Informatics Unplugged, we explore Interactive Multimedia Reporting (IMR) and why traditional text-based radiology reports are no longer enough for image-driven clinical care.I’m joined by Seth Berkowitz, interventional radiologist, clinical informaticist, and Medical Director of Radiology Informatics at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Seth led the HIMSS–SIIM whitep
The PACS Selection Blueprint: What Every Imaging Leader Gets Wrong | with Dr. Alex Towbin
Choosing a PACS can shape the next 10 years of your imaging department. Yet many leaders still rely on gut feel, vendor hype, or checklists that do not reflect real clinical operations. In this episode of Imaging Informatics Unplugged, I sit down with Dr. Alex Towbin, Professor of Radiology and the Neil D. Johnson Chair of Radiology Informatics at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, to break down the
Revolutionizing Patient Access to Medical Images | with Rishi Nayyar
In this conversation, Rishi Nayyar discusses his journey from banking to healthcare innovation, focusing on patient access to medical images and the role of AI in enhancing patient understanding and automating workflows. He emphasizes the importance of empowering patients with control over their data while also addressing the challenges of image exchange and the need for efficient non-clinical wor
Introducing IIPCareers.com — The Imaging Informatics Career Tool
In this episode of Imaging Informatics Unplugged, Jasonwelcomes back Don Dennison, CIIP, FSIIM, and Mohannad Hussain for a deep dive into the evolution of the Imaging Informatics Career Development Matrix — nowreborn as a fully web-based platform at IIPCareers.com.The discussion continues from our last conversation(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KIMlAsngBA&t=751s), where the team explored ho
AI in Radiology: Hype, Reality, and What Comes Next | with Dr. Woojin Kim
What happens when large language models (LLMs) move from casual conversations into clinical practice? In this episode of Imaging Informatics Unplugged, Dr. Woojin Kim joins Jason Nagels to explore the hype, reality, and future of AI in radiology.Dr. Kim is the Chief Strategy Officer and CMIO at HOPPR, Chief Medical Officer at the ACR Data Science Institute, and a musculoskeletal radiologist at the
From Interfaces to Impact: Why Healthcare Still Struggles with Interoperability
🎙️ Featuring Toni Skokovic | Imaging Informatics Unplugged | Ep. 2Why is healthcare interoperability still so difficult—even with mature standards like HL7, DICOM, and FHIR? In this episode of Imaging Informatics Unplugged, Jason sits down with Toni Skokovic, a 25-year health tech veteran and founder of YourRevenuePlan, to explore what’s really blocking progress.Whether you’re a provider, vendor,
Prompt Engineering LLMs for Radiology: Multi-Institutional Study on Report Annotation Accuracy
In this episode of Imaging Informatics Unplugged, Dr. Mana Moassefi (incoming Radiology resident at Mayo Clinic) shares insights from a groundbreaking multi-institutional study that evaluated the use of large language models (LLMs) to annotate radiology reports — without any model training.Mana and her collaborators from institutions including Mayo Clinic, UCSF, Moffitt Cancer Center, Harvard Medi
Leveling Up in Imaging Informatics: Training, Growth, and Global Lessons | with Jay Crawford
In this episode of Imaging Informatics Unplugged, we sit down with Dr. Jay Crawford—educator, innovator, and one of the foundational voices in imaging informatics. With over 30 years of experience, Jay has helped shape the field from the early days of PACS and digital imaging to global training initiatives in places like Malawi.We explore why technical skills alone are no longer enough, how to bui
Navigating the Future of Imaging Informatics with the Career Development Matrix
In this episode of Imaging Informatics Unplugged, we explore one of the standout tools from SIIM 2025 — the Imaging Informatics Career Development Matrix, presented by Don Dennison during this year’s Dwyer Lecture.The matrix serves as a practical guide for:Defining key roles and career paths in imaging informaticsSupporting individual growth and team developmentIdentifying gaps and planning workfo
Digital Twin in Radiology: Transforming Imaging Operations with Robert MacDougall
In this episode of Imaging Informatics Unplugged, Jason sits down with Robert MacDougall to unpack one of the most talked-about — and often misunderstood — concepts in healthcare: the digital twin.🎯 What exactly is a digital twin in the context of radiology?💡 How can it be used to optimize imaging operations, increase access, improve patient satisfaction, and boost revenue?📊 Why are semantic inter
Inside the DICOM Standard with David Clunie: Past, Present, and Future of Medical Imaging Interoperability
In this episode of Imaging Informatics Unplugged, we sit down with the legendary David Clunie — radiologist, medical informaticist, and longtime editor of the DICOM standard. If you’ve ever worked in medical imaging, you’ve likely used a tool or reference authored by David, and today, we get to dive deep into his incredible journey.We explore the history of DICOM, the role of open standards, curre
Virtual Reality in Radiology: Reimagining the Reading Room with Mike Wesolowski
In this episode of Imaging Informatics Unplugged, we’re joined by Mike Wesolowski, medical physicist and CEO of Luxsonic, to explore how virtual reality (VR) is redefining diagnostic imaging, medical education, and access to care.From fully immersive diagnostic PACS to collaborative virtual tumor boards, Mike walks us through what it takes to build a regulatory-approved VR platform for radiology—a
MIIT 2025 Recap: AI, Interoperability, and Innovation in Imaging Informatics
Missed the MIIT 2025 Conference in Hamilton? We’ve got you covered.This episode of Imaging Informatics Unplugged features a high-level, AI-generated recap of the Medical Imaging Informatics and Teleradiology (MIIT) conference — one of Canada’s most dynamic and forward-thinking gatherings in the imaging informatics space. Learn more at https://miit.ca.We fed every presentation from MIIT 2025 into N
Bringing PACS & AI to Underserved Communities: RAD-AID’s Global Impact with Ameena Elahi
In this episode of Imaging Informatics Unplugged, we’re joined by Ameena Elahi, Director of Informatics Operations at RAD-AID and Associate Director of AI Initiatives at Penn Medicine.We explore what it really takes to implement imaging informatics, PACS systems, and AI tools in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) — from infrastructure and training to ethical deployment and long-term sustaina
De-identification in Medical Imaging: What You Need to Know | Nagels Consulting
With the rise of Machine Learning (ML) in Medical Imaging, training AI models requires real-world data—but how do we ensure Protected Health Information (PHI) stays private?In this episode of Imaging Informatics Unplugged, we sit down with Luke Bideaux, BSRT, RT (R), CIIP, President & CEO of Vega Imaging Informatics, to break down:✅ The challenges of de-identifying medical imaging data✅ Why DI
CIIP Certification: Is It Worth It? Career Benefits. Study Tips & Exam Insights
In this episode of Imaging Informatics Unplugged, hosts sit down with Nikki Fennell and Chuck Socia to dive into the Certified Imaging Informatics Professional (CIIP) designation. They explore the value of certification, the qualifications needed to take the exam, effective study strategies, and how CIIP certification can accelerate career growth. The discussion highlights how certification valida
Zero-Click AI & the Future of Radiology: A Conversation with Herman Oosterwijk
How is AI transforming medical imaging? And more importantly, how do we integrate AI into workflows while maintaining interoperability and efficiency?In this episode of Imaging Informatics Unplugged, Herman Oosterwijk, a globally recognized expert in DICOM, PACS, HL7, and imaging informatics, joins us to discuss:✅ Front-End vs. Back-End AI – What's the difference & why does it matter?✅ How
AI in Medical Imaging: Transforming Healthcare & Startup Lessons | Nagels Consulting
AI is transforming medical imaging, and 16-Bit is at the forefront of predictive care innovation. In this episode, we explore how AI-driven tools are reshaping osteoporosis screening, the challenges of entrepreneurship in healthcare, and the complexities of regulatory approval. AI in Medical Imaging: Transforming Healthcare & Startup Lessons 🔍 Topics Covered:✅ AI’s role in predictive medical
The Evolution of FHIR™ in Healthcare | Nagels Consulting
In this conversation, Alex Goel, founder of Topology https://topology.health Discusses the evolution and impact of FHIR™ on healthcare data exchange. He shares insights from his extensive experience with healthcare standards, the challenges of integrating new technologies, and the importance of high-quality data in leveraging AI tools. The discussion also touches on the hybrid nature of curr
From Corporate to Consultant: An Informatics Journey
In this conversation, Mohannad shares his journey from working in a corporate environment to becoming an independent consultant in medical imaging. He discusses the motivations behind his transition, the challenges he faced in establishing his own business, and the importance of networking and community support. Mohannad reflects on the unexpected realities of self-employment, including the
Why POCUS Matters: Improving Patient Outcomes with Point of Care Ultrasound!
Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS) is revolutionizing healthcare by giving clinicians real-time insights right at the bedside. But with great power comes great responsibility — implementing POCUS properly can be challenging, and governance is essential to success.In this episode of Imaging Informatics Unplugged, we sit down with Allan Bottemiller, a leading medical imaging and informatics expert. Al
