The following is the list of candidates for the 2026 edition of the Minnies, AuntMinnie.com‘s campaign to recognize the best and brightest in medical imaging. This year, well over 100 candidates have been selected as semifinalists for 14 categories, ranging from Most Influential Radiology Researcher to Best New Radiology Device for the period of September 1, 2025 to September 1, 2026.
The semifinalist list was compiled based on nominations from members of AuntMinnie.com. Winners will be selected by our expert panel in two rounds of voting. The finalists will be announced in late October, followed by the winners in early November.
Most Influential Radiology Researcher
Raj Attariwala, MD, PhD, AIM Medical Imaging
Manisha Bahl, MD, Mass General Brigham
Richard Barr, MD, Northeast Ohio Medical University
Kaustav Bera, MD, University Hospitals
Akshay Chaudhari, Stanford Radiology
Eric Christensen, PhD, Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute
Damini Dey, PhD, Cedars-Sinai
Felix Gonzalez, MD, AdventHealth Radiology and Imaging
Lars Grimm, MD, Duke University
Thomas Hope, MD, UCSF
Ajay Malhotra, MBBS, MD, Yale School of Medicine
Yusuf Menda, MD, University of Iowa
Jay Parikh, MD Anderson Cancer Center
Perry Pickhardt, MD, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Elizabeth Rula, PhD, Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute
Riad Salem, MD, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine
Kathleen Schmainda, PhD, Medical College of Wisconsin
Satvik Tripathi, PHD student, Perelman School of Medicine
Most Effective Radiology Educator
Lea Alhilali, MD, Barrow Neurological
Suzie Bash, MD, RadNet
David Bluemke, MD, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Rajesh Botchu, MBBS, Royal Orthopaedic Hospital
Kellye Chia, NordInsight
Stamatia Destounis, MD, Elizabeth Wende Breast Care
Richard Duszak, MD, University of Central Florida
Navid Faraji, MD, University Hospitals
Ghaneh Fananapazir, MD, UC Davis School of Medicine
Elliot Fishman, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine
L. Alexandre Frigini, MD, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Swati Goyal, DRMD, Gandhi Medical College
Matthew Hartman, MD, Allegheny Health Network
Sandeep Hedgire, MD, Mass General Brigham
Susan Holley, MD, PhD, Onsite Women’s Health
Saurabh Jha, MD, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Emanuel Kanal, MD, University of Pittsburgh
Nina Kottler, MD, Mosaic Clinical Technologies
Curtis Langlotz, MD, PhD, Stanford Medicine
Mahadevappa Mahesh, MD, Johns Hopkins Medicine
Ian Mark, MD, Mayo Clinic
Yusuf Menda, MD, University of Iowa
Christine “Cooky” Menias, MD, Mayo Clinic
Frank Miller, MD, Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine
Mark D. Murphey, MD, AFIP
Annie Packard, MD, Mayo Clinic
Amy Patel, MD, University of Kansas Health System
Sean Raj, MD, SimonMed
Andrew Rosenkrantz, MD, NYU Langone Health
Barry Siegel MD, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology
Manuel Signorini, MD, Università degli Studi di Padova
Elana Smith, MD, University of Maryland
Benjamin Strong, MD, Virtual Radiologic
Mohamed Swaleh, MD, The Mombasa Hospital
Laszlo Tabar, MD, Mammography Education, Inc.
Lawrence Tanenbaum, MD, drtmasters
Charlotte Taylor, MD, University of Mississippi Medical Center
Sree Harsha Tirumani, MD, Case Western Reserve University
Greg Zaharchuk, MD, PhD, Stanford University
Most Effective Radiologic Sciences Educator
Holly Bonfig-Becker, Ed.D, RT(R)(M) University of Iowa
Cheryl O. DuBose, Ed.D, RT(R), Arkansas State University
Terri Franklin, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Tobias Gilk, Gilk Radiology Consultants
Zack Gray, Ed.D, RT (R), University of Mississippi Medical Center
Kristan Harrington, T2Star Radiology Solutions
Giuseppe Scappatura, Grande Ospedale Metropolitano Bianchi Melacrino Morelli, Italy
Kathleen Schmainda, PhD, Medical College of Wisconsin
Becky Seals, RT(R)(MR) Medical University of South Carolina Health
Kori L. Stewart, Ph.D., R.T.(R)(CT), Quinnipiac University
Most Effective Radiology Administrator/Manager
Asher Street Beam, DHA, RT(R)(MR), University of Mississippi Medical Center
Tom Cappas, RT(R)(MR), Midstate Radiology Associates
Avery Knapp, MD, Expert Radiology Management Services
Nitin Kumar, MD, Fairfax Radiological Consultants
Josh Lee, RT(R) (MR), University of Mississippi Medical Center
Andrew Ruiz, Rady Children’s Health
Hans Schild, Radiologische Universitätsklinik Bonn, Germany
Jason Theodore, AdventHealth
Best Radiology Training Program
AdventHealth Orlando, Orlando, FL
Allegheny Health Network (AHN), Pittsburgh, PA
Case Western Reserve University/UH, Cleveland, OH
Creighton University – Phoenix, AZ
Duke University, Durham, NC
Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Mayo Clinic in Arizona, Phoenix
Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, St. Louis, MO
Oregon Health and Sciences University, Portland
Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, Birmingham, UK
Stanford University, Stanford, CA
University of Iowa Health Care, Iowa City
University of Maryland Medical School, Baltimore
University of Mississippi Medical School, Jackson
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
Best Radiologic Sciences Program
Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TN
Imaging Diversified
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, San Francisco
University of Iowa, Iowa City
University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson
Most Significant News Event in Radiology
Curium, Lantheus win patent dispute over lutetium-177 dotatate products
Dr. Nicole Saphier nominated for Surgeon General
FDA strikes down radiology AI 510(k) exemption arguments
Nuance sunsets PowerScribe
Radiopharmaceutical industry consolidation
Shortage of stereotactic breast biopsy needles
Biggest Threat to Radiology
Advanced physician providers
Burnout
Danger of becoming a remote specialty
Decline of independent private practice radiology
Increased imaging volumes
Medical malpractice lawsuits
MRI safety accidents
Poor leadership
Radiologist shortage
Radiologist turnover
Reimbursement
Hottest Clinical Procedure
Agentic AI
Cardiac PET
CT colonography
PET/CT
Photon-counting CT
PSMA-PET
Spectral CT
Theranostics
Whole-body MRI screening
Image of the Year
AI plus CCTA cuts plaque analysis time, predicts cardiac event risk. Image from Qian Chen, MD, of Nanjing Medical University in China.
AI-measured myosteatosis from CAC CT scans help predict future COPD. Image from Azir Azimi, MD, of HeartLung.ai.
Brain PET scans reveal neuron loss in long COVID. Image from Yuhan Karida Liu of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, Ontario.
Cinematic rendering of penetrating cardiac injury. Image from Elliot Fishman, MD, of Johns Hopkins University.
Low muscle density on coronary CT linked to heart risk. Image from Alan Guimaraes, PhD, of the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
MR elastography standards reliable for imaging chronic liver disease. Image from Suraj Serai, PhD, from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania.
New immuno-PET tracer shows promise in lung cancer. Image from ad authors Liang Zhao, MD, and Hui Zhou, MD, of First Affiliated Hospital of Xiamen University in Xiamen, China.
Novel radiotracer effectively images overactive adrenal glands. Image from Peter Scott, PhD, of the University of Michigan Ann Arbor.
Positive Amyloid PET study alongside an AI-based quantitative MRI for ARIA surveillance. Image from Suzie Bash, MD, of RadNet.
PET tracer that detects deep vein thrombosis. Image from Sangwon Han, MD, PhD, of the University of Ulsan College of Medicine in Seoul, South Korea.
Scientific Paper of the Year
AI-based triage and decision support in mammography and digital tomosynthesis for breast cancer screening: a paired, noninferiority trial, Elías-Cabot, et al, Nature Medicine, March 19, 2026. To learn more about this study, click here.
Bridging Mammography and Lung Cancer Screening: Eligibility, Uptake and Potential Impact, Ajrouch, et al, Cancer Medicine, January 20, 2026. To learn more about this study, click here.
Cash price transparency of common radiology services in the United States: An analysis of 2024 healthcare transparency data by state, Jacobsen, et al, Clinical Imaging, December 30, 2025. To learn more about this study, click here.
Deep Learning Model With Nodule Indexing Tailored to Early-Stage Lung Cancer Detection, Schroeder, et al, Journal of the American College of Radiology, January 29, 2026. To learn more about this study, click here.
Direct to Radiology Emergency Avoidance Management (DREAM): A Quality Improvement Research Study on Reducing Emergency Department Overcrowding, Vacha et al, The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, August 6, 2026. To learn more about this study, click here.
Epistemic Authority and Clinical Governance in AI-Integrated Radiography: A Practice-Oriented Narrative Review, Scappatura, Journal of Advanced Healthcare, April 20, 2026. To learn more about this study, click here.
Imaging Utilization Among Pediatric Beneficiaries at Children’s Hospital Versus Non-Children’s Hospital Outpatient Facilities Using Medicaid Claims, Pelzl, et al, Journal of the American College of Radiology, January 20, 2026. To learn more about this study, click here.
Interval cancer, sensitivity, and specificity comparing AI-supported mammography screening with standard double reading without AI in the MASAI study: a randomised, controlled, non-inferiority, single-blinded, population-based, screening-accuracy trial, Lång et al. The Lancet, January 29, 2026. To learn more about this study, click here.
Leveraging Fine-Tuned Large Language Models for Interpretable Pancreatic Cystic Lesion Feature Extraction and Risk Categorization, Rasromani, et al, American Journal of Roentgenology, May 6, 2026. To learn more about this study, click here.
Radiologist turnover in the United States. Parikh, et al, Journal of the American College of Radiology, June 23, 2026. To learn more about this study, click here.
Sources of Work-Related Stress and Satisfaction in Radiology: A Survey of Faculty, Technologists, Nurses, and Other Staff, Ayyala, et al, American Journal of Roentgenology, August 26, 2026. To learn more about this study, click here.
The effect of AI on the Radiologist Workforce: A Task-Based Analysis, Langlotz, medRxiv, December 22, 2025. To learn more about this study, click here.
The Role of Agentic AI in Musculoskeletal Radiology: A Scoping Review, Computers, February 2026. To learn more about this study, click here.
TMIST Lead-In Randomized Trial of Breast Tomosynthesis Versus Digital Mammography: Results in Women Ineligible for the Full TMIST Trial Due to Age (40–44 or ≥ 75 Years Old), Seely, et al, American Journal of Roentgenology, January 28, 2026. To learn more about this study, click here.
Treatment Discontinuation in Metastatic Castration-Resistant Prostate Cancer (mCRPC) Patients Treated With Lutetium-177 (177Lu)–PSMA-617: A Retrospective Real-World Study, Samadi, et al, Clinical Genitourinary Cancer, January 5, 2026. To learn more about this study, click here.
Worldwide Radiation Dose in Coronary Artery Disease Diagnostic Imaging, Einstein, et al, JAMA, January 22, 2026. To learn more about this study, click here.
Best New Radiology Device
Accuro XV diagnostic ultrasound system, Rivanna
Alphenix 4D CT with Aquilion One/Insight Edition interventional imaging system, Canon Medical Systems
Artis vision interventional radiology systems, Siemens Healthineers
Ascent3T neonatal MRI system, Eyas Medical Imaging
ATUSA portable breast ultrasound system, iSono Health
Axana portable MRI scanner, Wellumio
Echelon Synergy ZeroHelium MRI, Fujifilm
Evo CT-Linac, Elekta
Extremity Scanner photon-counting CT system, Mars Bioimaging
KDR FMT+ DR system, Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas
Photonova Spectra photon-counting CT scanner, GE HealthCare
uMI Panvivo Mobile PET/CT scanner, United Imaging
Verida Spectral CT, Philips Healthcare
VueJect contrast delivery system, Bracco
Best New Radiology Software
a2z-Unified-Triage AI CT analysis software, a2z Radiology AI
Acute infarct triage AI software, Harrison.ai
AI-CVD AI software, HeartLung
AiMIFY contrast-enhancement software, Bracco Imaging/Subtle Medical
Avatar Medical Vision 3D surgical planning software, Avatar Medical
AZnod CT lung nodule analysis software, AZmed
Bunkerhill Contrast CAC coronary artery calcium analysis software, Bunkerhill Health
Cara System cardiac AI software, Cara Medical
Care Everywhere Diagnostic Image Exchange, Epic
CaRi-Heart coronary inflammation assessment software, Caristo Diagnostics
Clear Motion Cardiac motion correction software, Canon Medical
CogNet AI-MT+ triage and notification software, MedCognetics
Cognita CXR chest x-ray interpretation software, Mosaic Clinical Technologies
cvi42 | Plaque CCTA plaque analysis software, Circle Cardiovascular Imaging
DeepVessel Plaque CCTA plaque analysis software, Keya Medical
Elevate Plus ultrasound AI software, Philips
Eyonis LCS lung-cancer screening software, Eyonis
First Read chest x-ray interpretation software, Aidoc
ImageGrid StreamVue imaging platform, Candelis
Native Reporting software, NewVue AI
NeuroQuant PET Alzheimer’s disease quantification software, NeuroQuant
Presto Agent AI draft reporting software, HOPPR
qXR-Detect chest x-ray CAD software, Qure.ai
RadOncAI RT dose planning software, InformAI
Rapid Aortic aortic disease assessment software, RapidAI
Reporting Pro reporting software, DeepHealth
RevealAI-Lung lung nodule analysis software, Reveal DX
RUPEE Orchestrator workflow orchestration software Agfa HealthCare
Scaida BrainCT-ICH triage software, mlHealth360
SubtleHD(PET) image enhancement software, Subtle Medical
True Definition DL CT image reconstruction software, GE HealthCare
Veritas SPECT/CT AI noise reduction software, Spectrum Dynamics
Viz Pulmonary Suite, Viz.ai
Best New Radiology Vendor
Brainomix. Learn more about this vendor by clicking here.
Clairity. Learn more about this vendor by clicking here.
Dopl Technologies. Learn more about this vendor by clicking here.
GuideAI Health. Learn more about this vendor by clicking here.
KyphoLift. Learn more about this vendor by clicking here.
Medara. Learn more about this vendor by clicking here.
Provect AI. Learn more about this vendor by clicking here.
Pulmera. Learn more about this vendor by clicking here.
Scan.com. Learn more about his vendor by clicking here.
Shadowfax AI. Learn more about this vendor by clicking here.
ThinkSono. Learn more about this vendor by clicking here.
Vexev. Learn more about this vendor by clicking here.
Vista AI. Learn more about this vendor by clicking here.
Wilhelm.Ai. Learn more about this vendor by clicking here.
Xeos. Learn more about this vendor by clicking here.
Best Educational Mobile App
CTIsus CT Quick Guides, Elliot Fishman, MD, (iOS)
IMAIOS e-anatomy, IMAIOS (iOS)
MagnetVision, Emanuel Kanal, MD, (iOS)
MRI Made Easy… well almost (iOS)
Radiology Assistant 2.0, BestApps (iOS)
Radiology Calculators, RadAtHand, (Android, ioS),
Xray Anatomy, Mediware (iOS)
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