What Whole-Body MRI Can Learn from Incidental Findings Research
- Anand Bidarkar
- Oct 14, 2025
- 2 min read
One of the biggest debates in preventative and whole-body MRI is how to manage incidental findings — the small, often unexpected abnormalities that may or may not matter clinically.
A recent study titled “Closing the loop: nine-year outcomes of an electronic medical record-based protocol for reporting incidental imaging findings” published in Journal of the American College of Radiology offers valuable guidance.
Conducted at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine (Chicago, USA) by a multidisciplinary team including Rohan M. Shah, Aniket Dehadrai, Ariz Keshwani, Brenda Schmitz, and James C. Carr, MD (Chair, Department of Radiology), the study analyzed over 25,000 incidental findings over nine years.
The study analyzed 25,000+ incidental findings across CT, MRI, and other modalities. Using an EMR-linked, nursing-led follow-up protocol, the program achieved:
21% annual growth in findings tracked
>99% resolution rate across nearly a decade
Lung, brain, and kidney findings as the most common
From 2019–2023, among 17,205 available cases, lung findings were the most common (19.31%), followed by brain (7.29%) and kidney (7.17%).
Among distribution by modality CT imaging was the most frequent modality (53.99%), followed by MRI (20.34%), radiographs (18.17%), and ultrasound (7.49%).
The takeaway is clear: When incidental findings are systematically managed, they shift from being a burden to becoming a critical safety net for early disease detection.
As whole-body MRI adoption accelerates, these learnings can help create the right frameworks — where radiologists, AI systems, and clinical teams work together to triage intelligently, follow up responsibly, and prevent overdiagnosis without missing the chance for early intervention.
#Radiology #PreventativeRadiology #WholeBodyMRI #AI #IncidentalFindings #FutureOfRadiology #HealthcareInnovation #Longevity #amriscan
Source: Closing the loop: nine-year outcomes of an electronic medical record-based protocol for reporting incidental imaging findings
Shah, Rohan M. et al. Journal of the American College of Radiology, Volume 0, Issue 0
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