SCOTTSDALE, AZ – August 24th, 2026 – SimonMed, one of the largest outpatient medical imaging providers and radiology practices in the United States, today announced a partnership with Optellum, an AI-powered lung cancer diagnostics company, to integrate advanced lung nodule risk-stratification AI directly into its existing AI-enabled clinical workflow. This integration is designed to give referring providers an objective, validated assessment of whether an incidentally detected pulmonary nodule is likely benign or malignant, supporting earlier and more appropriate patient care. 

Under this new partnership, eligible lung nodules identified during standard chest CT scans will flow into Optellum’s Lung Cancer Prediction (LCP) AI for evaluation. Optellum’s software is the first AI-based decision-support tool cleared by the FDA for malignancy risk prediction of eligible incidentally detected pulmonary nodules. The software analyzes various nodule characteristics and generates a validated AI-derived Lung Cancer Prediction (LCP) score to assist in informing clinical decision-making.  

“For the first time, every eligible pulmonary nodule can move seamlessly from detection to malignancy risk assessment without requiring a separate workflow, additional clicks, or manual case selection,” said Dr. Sean Raj, Chief Medical Officer and Chief Innovation Officer at SimonMed. “We believe this represents the world’s first enterprise-wide deployment of an integrated AI-powered pathway for lung nodule detection, characterization, and malignancy risk prediction. It’s a major step toward ensuring every patient with a potentially dangerous lung nodule receives a consistent, objective assessment, while keeping the radiologist firmly at the center of clinical decision-making.”

Millions of lung nodules are found incidentally on CT scans each year, but timely and appropriate follow-up remains a challenge. Traditional risk models can leave clinicians uncertain, leading to delayed diagnoses of malignant nodules or unnecessary procedures for benign ones. By evaluating every eligible user-selected pulmonary nodule within the radiologist’s existing workflow, SimonMed helps ensure consistent, AI-powered risk assessment across the enterprise while reducing variability and the chance that high-risk nodules are overlooked. 

The integration of Optellum LCP AI builds on SimonMed’s existing AI-enhanced lung nodule program, powered by Infervision, which already provides automated volumetric sizing and interval-growth tracking. By adding Optellum’s risk prediction technology, SimonMed gives referring providers clearer guidance while continuing to advance a more targeted, imaging-based assessment of pulmonary nodules.  

“We are thrilled to partner with SimonMed to bring our LCP AI to their extensive network of clinics,” said Dr. Johnathan Watkins, CEO of Optellum. “SimonMed’s commitment to making cutting-edge diagnostic technology accessible aligns with our mission to ensure no lung nodule is left behind. By risk-stratifying patients at the point of diagnosis, we can help their subspecialty radiologists and referring clinicians prioritize the right patients for life-saving interventions. And with Optellum’s LCP AI uniquely named in Medicare payment policy and reimbursed by commercial payers, partnerships like this can scale sustainably, bringing earlier diagnosis to more patients.” 

While the workflow is designed for speed and ease of use, specialist oversight remains central. The Optellum LCP score serves as clinical decision support and is interpreted alongside imaging, prior exams, patient risk factors, and clinical guidelines. Every AI-generated risk score is reviewed and confirmed by a board-certified SimonMed radiologist before inclusion in the final report, ensuring referred providers receive trusted, actionable findings. Once fully deployed, this workflow will automatically evaluate pulmonary nodules across one of the nation’s largest outpatient imaging networks, representing one of the largest enterprise implementations of AI-powered lung cancer risk assessment worldwide 

The Optellum integration is the latest milestone in SimonMed’s broader strategy to advance medical imaging through clinically validated AI. Across multiple imaging specialties, SimonMed continues to invest in technologies that enhance diagnostic accuracy, improve efficiency, and provide referring providers with more meaningful insights, while ensuring every result remains under the review and oversight of board-certified radiologists.  

About SimonMed
Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, SimonMed is one of the largest outpatient diagnostic imaging and health technology providers in the United States. SimonMed operates more than 175 centers across 10 states and is supported by a nationwide team of more than 300 subspecialty-trained, board-certified radiologists. SimonMed provides the full spectrum of diagnostic imaging services from X-ray to complex Cardiac MRI and is a recognized leader in the clinical use of artificial intelligence.  

SimonMed Longevity is a division focused on proactive health. It offers whole-body MRI and preventive, multi-modality screening designed to help patients establish a baseline of their health, track changes over time, and identify potential risk earlier—when informed action may help prevent or delay disease. 

About Optellum
Optellum is a commercial-stage AI healthcare company dedicated to revolutionizing early diagnosis and treatment of lung disease, starting with one of the deadliest, lung cancer. 

Optellum’s flagship product, Virtual Nodule Clinic (VNC) with Lung Cancer Prediction AI (LCP), is the world’s first FDA-cleared and reimbursed software-as-a-medical-device (SaMD) solution for AI-powered lung cancer prioritization and diagnostic support. Clinicians trust the Optellum solution to aid them in making the most appropriate life-saving treatment decisions for their patients. Backed by real-world clinical evidence, Optellum’s solution accelerates the diagnostic care pathway by enabling early patient identification, enhancing prioritization, and improving clinicians’ efficiency, reducing time to guideline-recommended treatment. Optellum VNC is FDA cleared, CE-MDR marked, UKCA marked, and TGA-approved.  

Optellum is headquartered in Oxford, UK, and has an office at the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas, US. 

Media Contact
Philippe Freund
Head of Marketing and Market Development
marketing@optellum.com