Nanox announced that its deep-learning medical imaging analytics subsidiary, Nanox AI Ltd., received 510(k) clearance by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for HealthFLD, an artificial intelligence (AI) software that provides automated qualitative and quantitative analysis of liver attenuation from routine contrast and non-contrast chest and abdomen CT scans in patients between the ages of 18 to 75. HealthFLD is intended to support clinicians in the detection of fatty liver, correlated with hepatic steatosis, an early sign of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), formerly referred to as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). An estimated 24% of U.S. adults are living with MASLD or NAFLDi, a metabolic disease linked to obesity, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, all of which pose significant public health concerns.

Adults with MASLD are not only at risk of developing severe liver complications, such as cirrhosis and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis (MASH), but are also at risk of cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death in people living with MASLDii. MASLD is commonly asymptomatic until it progresses to advanced liver fibrosis, and the current gold standard for diagnosis is a liver biopsy, which is invasive and costly. As such, early diagnosis of MASLD could benefit patients and the healthcare system.

While AI assessment of medical imaging offers a reliable, non-invasive, large-scale approach to support clinicians in the assessment of hepatic steatosis (fatty liver), it has traditionally been difficult to assess liver attenuation on contrast-enhanced scans ? which make up a large proportion of CT scans ? limiting the ability of clinicians to detect non-severe cases of MASLDiii.

HealthFLD was designed to help clinicians in the assessment and analysis of fatty liver in the general population from routine CT scans. Amidst rising obesity rates, the prevalence of liver-related disease is growing, and the need for an approved treatment for MASH has yet to be met. With several late-stage drug candidates for MASH in development and the availability of GLP-1 drugs for the management of type 2 diabetes and other metabolic diseases, identification of liver steatosis is especially relevant.

The HealthFLD clearance is the third product across the Nanox AI suite of population health solutions to receive FDA clearance. The FDA previously cleared HealthCCSng, a solution that detects coronary artery calcium (CAC) that presents a risk for coronary artery disease, and HealthOST, a solution that assesses vertebral compression fractures and bone mineral density to support clinicians in the evaluation and assessment of musculoskeletal disease of the spine (such as osteoporosis).