Diagnostics & imaging AI · AI coronary plaque and FFR-CT analysis
Elucid
Elucid is a Boston medical technology company whose FDA-cleared Plaque-IQ and FFR-IQ software analyze coronary CT angiography to measure plaque type and amount and estimate blood flow, helping cardiologists judge heart attack risk and decide on treatment.
Strong fit
- Cardiology and imaging programs that already order coronary CT angiography and want plaque composition along with stenosis
- Health systems building CT-first chest pain pathways that need plaque and FFR-CT results from one scan
- Teams that want histology-validated measures of lipid-rich, high-risk plaque
Weak fit
- Sites that rarely order coronary CT angiography and rely on stress testing or invasive angiography
- Practices that only need a coronary calcium score
- Buyers who want a long track record of commercial FFR-CT use before signing
Bottom line
Elucid turns a routine coronary CT angiogram into a quantitative map of plaque type and amount, and since October 2026 its FDA-cleared FFR-IQ adds a noninvasive estimate of blood flow from the same scan. It suits cardiology programs that already use CT angiography and want plaque biology and physiology in one report.
Score breakdown
Weights: Outcomes 35% · Product 30% · Implementation 20% · Pricing clarity 15%.
Elucid's buyers are cardiology groups, hospital imaging departments, and health systems that run coronary CT angiography, the contrast CT scan of the heart arteries. Cardiologists use Plaque-IQ when they want to know how much plaque a patient has and what kind it is, including lipid-rich necrotic core, the soft plaque most linked to heart attacks. The company's about page describes the goal as predicting and personalizing the prevention of heart attacks and strokes.
The most direct alternatives are Cleerly, which also measures plaque on coronary CT angiography, and Heartflow, which also offers FFR-CT analysis of coronary CT angiography. Heartflow sued Elucid on October 22, 2026, and Elucid said it will defend against the claims. Elucid sells through quoted enterprise contracts, and hospital payment for the analysis depends on the AI plaque analysis billing codes.
Plaque-IQ was trained and validated against histology, the microscope examination of artery tissue, which Elucid uses to separate its plaque measurements from image-only models. In October 2026 the FDA cleared FFR-IQ, Elucid's software for estimating fractional flow reserve from the CT scan. FFR shows whether a narrowing limits blood flow, a question that usually requires a pressure wire during cardiac catheterization. In the ELUCIDATE study of 491 vessels in 347 patients, FFR-IQ showed 92.2% sensitivity and 93.1% specificity against invasive FFR.
Elucid raised a $55 million Series D in September 2026, bringing total funding to about $185 million, and hired a chief revenue officer to lead commercial expansion. Its revenue is an estimated $15 million a year. CEO Kelly Huang has said physicians do not trust black-box AI, so Plaque-IQ shows layered results that start from the raw CT images.
The main practical limits are scan volume and workflow. A site that orders few coronary CT angiograms will get little from the software, and cardiologists still need a reading and reporting routine for plaque results. FFR-IQ is newly cleared, so most sites will have less local experience with it than with Plaque-IQ.
What clinicians and buyers say
What people like
"We get plaque composition from the same CT angiogram we already order, and the measurements are validated against histology."
"Having plaque and an FFR estimate in one report saves us from sending borderline patients straight to the cath lab."
What people don't like
"FFR-IQ is new, so we are still building local experience with it before we change referral patterns."
"If your center does few coronary CT angiograms, it is hard to justify the contract."
Where customer reviews couldn't be found, our analysts attempted to give a voice to buyer sentiment, drawing on real information from review sites, forums, and product documentation.
Based on: Elucid about page, FFR-IQ clearance announcement, and Scott Nelson interview with Kelly Huang.
Competitor landscape
| Vendor | Overall | Ease of implementation |
|---|---|---|
| Elucid | 7.5 | 6.8 |
| Cleerly | 7.4 | 6.8 |
Pricing
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Model | Enterprise software license for Plaque-IQ and FFR-IQ analysis of coronary CT angiography, quoted per program. List prices are not published. |
| Reimbursement | CEO Kelly Huang has said CMS granted AI plaque analysis a Category I CPT code about a year after Elucid entered the market. Hospital payment depends on the site and payer. |
| What drives cost | Study volume, the number of sites, coronary versus carotid analysis, and whether FFR-IQ is added to Plaque-IQ. |
Leadership
Recent news
- November 2026: Elucid presented ELUCIDATE results at TCT 2026, reporting 92.9% vessel-level accuracy for FFR-IQ against invasive FFR.
- October 2026: Heartflow filed a lawsuit against Elucid on October 22, and Elucid said it will defend against the claims.
- October 2026: The FDA cleared FFR-IQ, Elucid's software for estimating fractional flow reserve from coronary CT angiography.
- September 2026: Elucid appointed Mark Miller as chief revenue officer to lead commercial expansion.
- September 2026: Elucid raised $55 million in an oversubscribed Series D, bringing total funding to about $185 million.
Methodology
| Weight | Factor | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| 35% | Customer outcomes | Whether buyers get measurable operational or clinical-workflow results after go-live |
| 30% | Product | Capability depth, reliability, and fit for the job the category buys |
| 20% | Implementation | How hard it is to stand up, integrate, train, and stabilize |
| 15% | Pricing clarity | Whether a buyer can model total cost without a mystery quote |
| Label | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Highly recommend | Strong outcomes and product with manageable caveats |
| Recommend | Solid fit for the right buyer; know the tradeoffs |
| Conditional | Only with a specific use case or heavy caveats |
| Not recommended | Avoid for most buyers in this category |
Read our full methodology for how we weight scores and assign recommend labels.