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A woman in a white lab coat analyzes medical imaging on dual monitors. The left screen displays a mammogram image, while the right screen shows software with patient data. The setting appears to be a medical office or clinic.
Campus Life

AI in Healthcare

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How doctors are using artificial intelligence to improve patient care

 

By Kali Chan

At Stony Brook Medicine (SBM), artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming how physicians diagnose and manage some of the most serious health conditions — helping detect breast cancer earlier, identify heart disease with greater precision and improve the overall patient experience.

Stony Brook Medicine healthcare system was an early adopter of iCAD’s ProFound AI cancer detection and breast density assessment solutions and was the first healthcare system in both Nassau and Suffolk Counties to provide this cutting-edge technology when we started using the platform in 2018.

Two medical professionals in white lab coats examining medical imaging data on a computer screen. One man is sitting while the other points to the screen, which displays images of human anatomy, in a modern office setting.

From left, Ernest Batista, MD, diagnostic radiologist at Stony Brook Medicine, and Michael Park, MD, cardiologist and cardiac imaging specialist at Stony Brook Medicine, view the results of a HeartFlow Plaque Analysis.

One of the earliest and most impactful uses of AI at Stony Brook has been in breast cancer detection, where the technology has been helping radiologists since 2018. Stony Brook Medicine healthcare system was an early adopter of iCAD’s ProFound AI cancer detection and breast density assessment solutions and was the first healthcare system in both Nassau and Suffolk Counties to provide this cutting-edge technology. By analyzing mammograms with sophisticated algorithms, this AI system acts as a second set of eyes, highlighting potential areas of concern that may be subtle or easily overlooked. This not only improves detection of early-stage cancers but also reduces unnecessary recalls for additional imaging, sparing patients both anxiety and extra procedures.

“AI cannot do your biopsy. AI cannot read your MRI. If you need help with presurgical planning and staging, you need me. AI is not going to replace us,” said Cindy Lee, MD, chief of breast imaging at Stony Brook Medicine. “AI helps me to do my job better and faster, which gives me more time to spend with my patients.”

While AI has been advancing breast imaging for years, Stony Brook Medicine is also pushing the boundaries in cardiology, particularly in the detection and management of coronary artery disease, a leading cause of death in adults nationwide. Heart disease can be difficult to identify early. Traditional cardiac imaging provides limited information, often leaving physicians with difficult decisions about whether and when to intervene.

To address this, Stony Brook Medicine became the first health system on Long Island to implement an AI technology — HeartFlow Plaque Analysis™— to enable its physicians to more accurately understand the blockages present in the coronary arteries of patients with suspected heart disease. This advancement, introduced in 2025 at Stony Brook’s locations in Commack, Stony Brook and Riverhead, through a collaboration by the Division of Cardiology and the Department of Radiology, represents a significant milestone in the fight against heart disease.”

“This innovative AI technology offers comprehensive assessment of a patient’s coronary artery disease with details that were previously unattainable with standard cardiac CT,” said Michael Park, MD, a cardiologist and leading expert in noninvasive cardiac imaging at SBM. “With this level of detail, we can accurately describe the amount of cholesterol and plaque in a patient’s arteries to develop a personalized treatment plan designed to reduce cardiovascular risk, prevent complications and improve our patients’ quality of life.”

This preemptive approach is critical for preventing long-term damage. “As an interventional cardiologist, I often see patients who come to us after years of untreated coronary artery disease, frequently with irreversible damage,” said On Chen, MD, director of the Center for Advanced Lipid Management at SBM. “The ability to detect and characterize plaque at an early stage [will lead to] fewer unnecessary cardiac catheterizations and gives us a significant advantage improving the health of our community.”

Photos by Stony Brook Medicine/Jeanne Neville
Top Image:  Cindy Lee, MD, chief of breast imaging at Stony Brook Medicine, uses AI as a second set of eyes, which she says helps her do her job better so she can spend more time with patients.

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