What You Should Know
Vista AI, a provider of automated MRI scanning software for hospitals and imaging centers secures $29.5M in Series B financing, backed by a powerhouse group of new investors including Cedars-Sinai, Intermountain Health, and Tampa General Hospital.
– The funding will accelerate the expansion of the company’s FDA-cleared automated MRI scanning platform into new anatomies—including brain, spine, and prostate—while scaling remote scanning services to address the national shortage of skilled technologists.
The Workforce Crisis: Automation as Essential Infrastructure
Radiology is currently facing an “unsustainable” bottleneck where the demand for advanced imaging far outstrips the availability of skilled MRI technologists. Vista AI is breaking this barrier by turning the scanning process into a highly consistent, automated workflow that can be delivered regardless of a technologist’s prior experience or location.
- Cardiac MRI Excellence: Building on its successful cardiac platform, Vista AI is creating the first comprehensive platform for automated scanning across the most high-demand anatomical areas.
- Eliminating Backlogs: At Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the platform enabled 50% more scan slots, eliminating a 28-day backlog and providing next-day access without adding staff or equipment.
- Speed and Reliability: At Radiology Regional, automated scanning reduced exam times by over 50%, empowering technologists without specialized cardiac training to deliver gold-standard results with confidence.
“Radiology is facing a critical bottleneck: demand for MRI far outstrips the supply of skilled technologists, overburdening staff and forcing delays for patients,” said Daniel Hawkins, CEO of Vista AI. “Vista AI is breaking through that barrier by automating the scanning process, enabling technologists to consistently and efficiently deliver high-quality imaging, regardless of location.”
The “Remote” Strategy: Expanding Access to Advanced Care
A key component of Vista AI’s 2026 roadmap is the extension of its solution to include remote scanning services. This allows healthcare sites that currently lack specialized cardiac or neuroimaging staff to offer these high-quality exams locally, effectively democratizing access to advanced diagnostics.
As Dr. Blake Gardner of Intermountain Health noted, “Automation is the only way forward… Vista AI can extend advanced imaging beyond our main centers and make MRI accessible to more patients across our network”.
The Rise of the ‘Automated Imaging Hub’
As health systems move toward platform consolidation and “AI-enabled navigation,” the ability to automate the actual diagnostic “work” of the MRI will become the primary differentiator for profitable imaging centers. Vista AI is positioning itself as the de facto “Medical Memory” for imaging, ensuring that the “enormous positive outcomes achieved through interoperability” are matched by the high-quality data generated at the source.
