Past performance does not predict future returns. You may get back less than you originally invested. Reference to specific securities is not intended as a recommendation to purchase or sell any investment.
This article is featured in the Q1 2026 Future Strategist newsletter, you can read the rest of the newsletter here.
For decades, radiology was a literal black box. Think of a darkened room where a specialist spent hours scrolling through grey scale images, hunting for subtle differences where a missed detail could change a life. Several waves of technology are rapidly turning this scene into a relic.
The long march to digital imaging
The digitisation of radiography did not happen overnight. It began quietly in the early 1970s, with a breakthrough that would reshape modern medicine: the first CT scanner. Instead of producing a single flat X-ray image, CT converted physical X-ray measurements into digital data, allowing computers to reconstruct cross-sectional slices of the human body. For the first time, doctors could see inside the skull or chest in three dimensions.
This laid the foundation for everything that followed. Over the subsequent decades, CT and later MRI scans became faster to produce and dramatically better in image quality. But there was a catch. As scanners improved, the number of images produced per scan exploded. What had once been a handful of pictures became hundreds, then thousands, per patient. Radiography became digital, but interpretation remained human.
When progress created a bottleneck
By the late 2000s, imaging was fully digital: scans were streamed across hospital networks instead of being stored on film. But success created a new constraint – volume.
Modern CT and MRI generate vastly more data, and demand has risen with ageing populations and earlier diagnosis. Images can be produced faster than they can be read. Radiologist capacity became the system bottleneck.
This strain is visible on both sides of the Atlantic. The NHS recently reported nearly half a million patients waiting more than six weeks for key diagnostic tests, driven less by scanner availability than by shortages of radiographers and radiologists. In the US, workforce reports cite vacancy rates for radiologic technologists of around 20%, with CT and MRI particularly affected. This means expensive machines can sit idle for lack of staff to run them or interpret results.
This is where AI entered radiology, not as a sci-fi replacement for doctors, but as a response to a system under pressure.
New hardware, smarter software
Recent advances are changing radiography in two ways: how images are captured and how they are processed.
A major hardware shift is photon counting CT. Traditional CT measures total X-ray energy, while photon counting CT registers individual photons, producing sharper images and better tissue contrast, and, in many protocols, enabling lower radiation doses.
Less visible but equally important is AI-powered reconstruction. By filling gaps in partially captured data, some MRI protocols can run up to 50% faster without sacrificing image quality. This means more patients per day on the same equipment, reducing waits and improving the economics of diagnostic centres.
The most dramatic change, though, is how scans are read. Traditionally, radiologists read studies in arrival order, so an urgent brain bleed could sit behind routine cases. AI changes this by screening images in the background as soon as they are captured. If it detects patterns consistent with stroke, pulmonary embolism or a collapsed lung, it flags the case and pushes it to the top of the worklist. This is prioritisation, not replacement: a tireless second set of eyes that helps catch time-critical findings when workloads peak.
The big question: are radiologists becoming obsolete?
This is the fear that often dominates headlines, the so-called Kodak moment. If AI can find tumours or bleeds, do we still need human radiologists? In 2026, the answer is still yes, but with an important caveat – the job is changing.
The narrative of replacement misses a simple reality: data volume is exploding faster than the workforce can grow. Even if AI reduces the time needed to read each scan, the number and complexity of scans is rising faster still. Without AI, the system would buckle. Instead of replacing radiologists, AI is removing drudgery. Routine normal scans can be filtered out, and reports can be drafted automatically. Radiologists increasingly act as editors, decision makers and clinical partners rather than typists and image scrollers.
Freed from repetitive tasks, radiologists are moving into higher value roles. Many now perform minimally invasive procedures using real-time imaging guidance or collaborate closely with oncologists and surgeons to tailor treatment plans. The job is shifting from passive image reading to active clinical decision-making.
What this means going forward
AI is not a threat to radiology; it is a pressure valve. It helps healthcare systems cope with staff shortages, rising demand and increasingly complex data. Going forward, its most practical value will be in workflow triage and safety netting: flagging time-critical findings early, reducing the risk that urgent cases sit unnoticed in a queue and creating a consistent audit trail of what was detected and when.
The real transformation is not machines replacing people but machines increasing clinical capacity and reliability so radiologists can spend more time on judgement, communication and patient care.
Read, watch and listen to more insights from Liontrust fund managers here >
KEY RISKS
Past performance does not predict future returns. You may get back less than you originally invested.
We recommend this fund is held long term (minimum period of 5 years). We recommend that you hold this fund as part of a diversified portfolio of investments.
The Funds managed by the Global Equities Team:
-
May hold overseas investments that may carry a higher currency risk. They are valued by reference to their local currency which may move up or down when compared to the currency of a Fund.
-
May encounter liquidity constraints from time to time. The spread between the price you buy and sell shares will reflect the less liquid nature of the underlying holdings.
-
May invest in smaller companies and may invest a small proportion (less than 10%) of the Fund in unlisted securities. There may be liquidity constraints in these securities from time to time, i.e. in certain circumstances, the fund may not be able to sell a position for full value or at all in the short term. This may affect performance and could cause the fund to defer or suspend redemptions of its shares.
-
May have a concentrated portfolio, i.e. hold a limited number of investments or have significant sector or factor exposures. If one of these investments or sectors / factors fall in value this can have a greater impact on the Fund's value than if it held a larger number of investments across a more diversified portfolio.
-
May invest in emerging markets which carries a higher risk than investment in more developed countries. This may result in higher volatility and larger drops in the value of a fund over the short term.
-
Certain countries have a higher risk of the imposition of financial and economic sanctions on them which may have a significant economic impact on any company operating, or based, in these countries and their ability to trade as normal. Any such sanctions may cause the value of the investments in the fund to fall significantly and may result in liquidity issues which could prevent the fund from meeting redemptions.
-
May invest in companies predominantly in a single country which maybe subject to greater political, social and economic risks which could result in greater volatility than investments in more broadly diversified funds.
-
May hold Bonds. Bonds are affected by changes in interest rates and their value and the income they generate can rise or fall as a result; The creditworthiness of a bond issuer may also affect that bond's value. Bonds that produce a higher level of income usually also carry greater risk as such bond issuers may have difficulty in paying their debts. The value of a bond would be significantly affected if the issuer either refused to pay or was unable to pay.
-
May, in certain circumstances, invest in derivatives but it is not intended that their use will materially affect volatility. Derivatives are used to protect against currencies, credit and interest rate moves or for investment purposes. The use of derivatives may create leverage or gearing resulting in potentially greater volatility or fluctuations in the net asset value of the Fund. A relatively small movement in the value of a derivative's underlying investment may have a larger impact, positive or negative, on the value of a fund than if the underlying investment was held instead.
The risks detailed above are reflective of the full range of Funds managed by the Global Equities Team and not all of the risks listed are applicable to each individual Fund. For the risks associated with an individual Fund, please refer to its Key Investor Information Document (KIID)/PRIIP KID.
The issue of units/shares in Liontrust Funds may be subject to an initial charge, which will have an impact on the realisable value of the investment, particularly in the short term. Investments should always be considered as long term.
DISCLAIMER
This material is issued by Liontrust Investment Partners LLP (2 Savoy Court, London WC2R 0EZ), authorised and regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN 518552) to undertake regulated investment business.
It should not be construed as advice for investment in any product or security mentioned, an offer to buy or sell units/shares of Funds mentioned, or a solicitation to purchase securities in any company or investment product. Examples of stocks are provided for general information only to demonstrate our investment philosophy. The investment being promoted is for units in a fund, not directly in the underlying assets.
This information and analysis is believed to be accurate at the time of publication, but is subject to change without notice. Whilst care has been taken in compiling the content, no representation or warranty is given, whether express or implied, by Liontrust as to its accuracy or completeness, including for external sources (which may have been used) which have not been verified.
This is a marketing communication. Before making an investment, you should read the relevant Prospectus and the Key Investor Information Document (KIID) and/or PRIIP/KID, which provide full product details including investment charges and risks. These documents can be obtained, free of charge, from www.liontrust.com or direct from Liontrust. If you are not a professional investor please consult a regulated financial adviser regarding the suitability of such an investment for you and your personal circumstances.
