beach sunrise wrote:Hi Stu, I agree. I called a few BIG hospitals to check on their high tech scan machines. Cleveland Clinic told me the one I asked about was only FDA approved for lung cancer. WTH! Down the road it might be approved for CRC but no idea to when.
Another place I called about an even better machine said it is only approved for brain and knees at this time. Again, knees??? WTH! She put me on the list for research if it becomes available.
Just disgusted really now that I know better machines are out there just can't get to them. Might have to go overseas where they are using them for CRC.
What a racket big pharma, insurance and FDA have here in the states.
I have the feeling that the CT scanner issue is a lot more complicated than we imagine. CT scanners are not just machines. They have both hardware and software components, and I think that for a given model of CT scanner both the hardware and software components can be configured to allow the same scanner to deal with different specific scan needs. And apparently in the U.S. both the hardware and software modules need to undergo FDA review and approval if the radiologists plan to use the AI components to help them quickly interpret scans.
For some of the machines, the AI software needed for certain applications (e.g., cardiac applications or lung applications) may already be available and approved by the FDA while applications in other areas for a given machine may still be under development or still under FDA review.
My cancer center uses
Siemens "SOMATOM Definition AS" scanners for all sorts of cancer diagnoses and surveillance. It seems to be one of the most versatile scan machines around. Patients spend on average around 15 minutes in the scan prep room while the scan itself takes only about 5 minutes. After the scan is complete, the radiology report is prepared by a radiologist with the help of Siemens AI software and is sent electronically to the oncologist within about an hour. The patient then has a scheduled meeting on site with his/her oncologist about 2 hours after the scan took place in order to receive the results and interpretation. I had my bi-annual CT scan yesterday and everything, including meeting with my oncologist, was finished within three hours, and the whole process cost me a total of 68 Euros.
How Much Does a CT Scanner Cost?"Software and hardware features can also add a significant amount of money to the price tag, ranging from $35,000 to $100,000 for a cardiac software suite, or $15,000 to $35,000 for the lung application. That’s why it’s important to be well aware of your clinical requirements in the type of studies your facility will perform before making a decision about which to acquire."
https://www.excedr.com/blog/ct-scanner-cost/Full body CT scans - What you need to knowhttps://www.fda.gov/radiation-emitting-products/medical-x-ray-imaging/full-body-ct-scans-what-you-need-know