ARKA Clinical Decision Support is designed to meet all four criteria for Non-Device CDS under FD&C Act §520(o)(1)(E) and FDA's January 2026 final guidance on Clinical Decision Support Software. Recommendations support, not replace, the clinician's judgment. Every recommendation is anchored in a published guideline or peer-reviewed source, with the basis available for independent review. CLIN emphasizes imaging appropriateness at order entry.
This recommendation is intended to support, not replace, clinical judgment. It is generated by ARKA, software designed to meet the four criteria for Non-Device Clinical Decision Support under FD&C Act §520(o)(1)(E) and FDA's final guidance on Clinical Decision Support Software (January 2026). The clinician is responsible for the final decision.
AIIE Evidence
Image post-traumatic thoracic back pain — CT for high-energy or neurologically symptomatic injuries, radiographs for selected low-energy cases.
Significant mechanism, midline tenderness, or osteoporosis after thoracic trauma warrants imaging for vertebral fracture. CT is preferred for high-energy mechanisms; radiographs may suffice in low-energy presentations with low suspicion of instability.
The AIIE synthesis above is ARKA-authored; the sources below are the underlying external literature.
American College of Radiology · 2024
RAND Corporation · 2001