Augmenting Beyond The Standard.

Foundation

Nine years of research.
One breakthrough platform.

NodeAI's foundation is built on nearly a decade of peer-reviewed research leading to significant breakthroughs in lung cancer staging and advanced AI algorithms for real-time malignancy prediction during endobronchial ultrasound-guided procedures.

Active Clinical Trial Sites

NodeAI is live in a
multi-centre clinical trial
across North America.

Our technology is now in use in a multi-centre feasibility study enrolling patients across North America to evaluate real-world use of NodeAI during endobronchial ultrasound staging for lung cancer.

View on ClinicalTrials.gov
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Research Timeline

Key Milestones

2018
Systematic Review of EBUS Ultrasonographic Features
Identified key ultrasonographic features of lymph nodes predictive of malignancy during EBUS-TBNA and established the need for standardized malignancy scoring criteria.
Lung Cancer · Dec 2018
2020
Canada Lymph Node Score (CLNS)
A 4-point ultrasonographic scoring system to assess malignancy risk in mediastinal lymph nodes during EBUS, developed to standardize how endoscopists identify higher-risk targets for biopsy.
JTCVS · CLNS Developed
2021
Triple Normal Lymph Node Concept
Demonstrated that lymph nodes normal on CT, PET, and EBUS carry less than a 6% probability of malignancy — supporting targeted over systematic sampling.
Chest · Jun 2021
2022 — 2023
Feasibility & Multi-Center Non-Inferiority Trials
A randomized feasibility trial supported progression to a larger study. A subsequent prospective multi-centre trial found that targeted sampling of lymph nodes was non-inferior to systematic sampling for mediastinal staging.
JTCVS · Multi-Center Validated
2024
AI Algorithm Development & Validation
A deep neural network ensemble was trained and tested on 2,569 lymph node images from 773 patients. On a held-out testing set of 521 lymph nodes, the model achieved 96.91% specificity and an AUC of 0.701 for predicting malignancy from B-mode ultrasound images alone.
Respiration · JTCVS Techniques · 2024
Peer-Reviewed Research

Key Publications

2024
JTCVS Techniques
Clinical Utility of Artificial Intelligence-Augmented Endobronchial Ultrasound Elastography in Lymph Node Staging for Lung Cancer
Patel YS, Gatti AA, Farrokhyar F, Xie F, Hanna WC · JTCVS Tech. 2024;27:158–166
2023
J Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery
Preoperative Mediastinal Staging in Early-Stage Lung Cancer: Targeted Nodal Sampling is Not Inferior to Systematic Nodal Sampling
Sullivan KA, Farrokhyar F, Patel YS, Liberman M, Turner SR, Gonzalez AV, Nayak R, Yasufuku K, Hanna WC · J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2024;168(2):391–398
2023
Ann Thoracic Surgery
Clinical Validation of the Canada Lymph Node Score for Endobronchial Ultrasound
He RX, Hylton DA, Bédard ELR, Johnson S, Laing B, Valji A, Hanna WC, Turner SR · Ann Thorac Surg. 2023;115(6):1456–1462
2022
J Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery
Routine Systematic Sampling Versus Targeted Sampling During Endobronchial Ultrasound: A Randomized Feasibility Trial
Sullivan KA, Farrokhyar F, Leontiadis GI, Patel YS, Churchill IF, Hylton DA, Xie F, Seely AJE, Spicer J, Kidane B, Turner SR, Yasufuku K, Hanna WC · J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2022;164(1):254–261
2022
Annals of Thoracic Surgery
An Artificial Intelligence Algorithm to Predict Nodal Metastasis in Lung Cancer
Churchill IF, Gatti AA, Hylton DA, Sullivan KA, Patel YS, Leontiadis GI, Farrokhyar F, Hanna WC · Ann Thorac Surg. 2022;114(1):248–256
2021
Clin Transl Imaging
Thoracic Imaging Radiomics for Staging Lung Cancer: A Systematic Review and Radiomic Quality Assessment
Churchill IF, Sullivan KA, Simone AC, Patel YS, Leontiadis GI, Farrokhyar F, Gatti AA, Hanna WC · Clin Transl Imaging. 2021;10:191–216
2021
Chest
Endobronchial Ultrasound Staging of Operable Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: Do Triple-Normal Lymph Nodes Require Routine Biopsy?
Hylton DA, Kidane B, Spicer J, Turner S, Churchill I, Sullivan K et al. · Chest. 2021;159(6):2470–2476
2020
2020
JTCVS
The Canada Lymph Node Score for Prediction of Malignancy in Mediastinal Lymph Nodes During Endobronchial Ultrasound
Hylton DA, Turner S, Kidane B, Spicer J, Xie F, Farrokhyar F, Yasufuku K, Agzarian J, Hanna WC · J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2020;159(6):2499–2507
2018
Lung Cancer
Ultrasonographic Characteristics of Lymph Nodes as Predictors of Malignancy During Endobronchial Ultrasound (EBUS): A Systematic Review
Hylton DA, Turner J, Shargall Y, Finley C, Agzarian J, Yasufuku K, Fahim C, Hanna WC · December 2018