FDA Clears Bunkerhill AAQ, First AI to Automate Abdominal Aortic Diameter Quantification on Contrast and Non-Contrast CT

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — July 3, 2025 — Bunkerhill Health today announced FDA clearance for Bunkerhill Abdominal Aortic Quantification (AAQ), the first and only AI-powered algorithm that automatically measures the maximum abdominal aortic diameter on routine abdominal CT scans with or without intravenous contrast. Existing cleared algorithms analyze only contrast-enhanced studies; AAQ is the first and only solution to work across the full spectrum of contrast and non-contrast abdominal CT, broadening access to automated aortic measurements for millions of scans performed every year.

Developed at Stanford University by Dr. Oliver Aalami – Clinical Professor of Surgery (Vascular Surgery) at Stanford University School of Medicine and Director of Biodesign for Digital Health at the Stanford Mussallem Center for Biodesign – together with Adrit Rao, AI and digital health researcher at Stanford University, AAQ was validated through Bunkerhill’s consortium of academic medical centers before earning clearance. “Automating standardized and precise diameter measurements on every routine CT, no matter the protocol, means that fewer AAAs will be missed and opportunistic population-wide screening can be turned on to streamline appropriate vascular referral,” said Dr. Aalami. “It turns a highly variable measurement that used to require manual work into instant, standardized, and objective data that can improve quality of care and patient safety.”

Dr. Aalami and Mr. Rao developed the underlying AAQ algorithm using the Comp2Comp CT image analysis platform, also developed at Stanford University in collaboration with Dr. Akshay Chaudhari, an Assistant Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Data Science. 

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm: A Hidden Threat

Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) are diagnosed in about 200,000 Americans every year, and experts estimate more than one million people in the U.S. may be living with an undetected aneurysm. When rupture occurs, the condition is often fatal, accounting for roughly 4,500 deaths annually in the United States.

By surfacing diameter information opportunistically from scans obtained for other reasons, AAQ gives care teams the signal to identify patients whose aortas warrant closer surveillance. “We developed AAQ as a robust end-to-end pipeline by training on a diverse dataset of contrast and non-contrast CT scans,” explained Rao. “This approach allowed us to ensure consistent performance across the full range of imaging scenarios encountered in clinical practice. Securing FDA clearance shows how quickly academic innovation can reach patients when supported by strong clinical partnerships.” 

Seamless Integration with Carebricks

Bunkerhill AAQ is immediately available in Bunkerhill’s Carebricks platform, where its measurements feed directly into automated follow-up workflows such as guideline checks, longitudinal tracking, and coordinated messaging to providers or patients. Carebricks pairs a growing portfolio of FDA-cleared imaging algorithms—including tools for coronary artery calcium, aortic valve calcium, and bone density assessment—with cutting-edge large language and foundation models to analyze structured and unstructured patient data at scale, helping health systems surface overlooked risks and act on them in real time.

About Bunkerhill Health

Bunkerhill Health delivers generative AI for clinical reasoning and action. Its flagship platform, Carebricks, continuously analyzes structured and unstructured patient data to surface overlooked risks, identify candidates for clinical trials or new treatments, catch missed next steps in care, and automate follow-up across a wide range of specialties. By partnering with leading health systems, Bunkerhill Health helps organizations deliver more proactive and equitable care, close costly gaps, and achieve better outcomes without adding to the workload of care teams. Learn more at bunkerhillhealth.com.