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To be banned – whole body CT scans for healthy people

Government to ban whole-body CT scans for ‘health MOTs’ |Guardian UK  7 April 2010 BMJ Group The Department of Health is introducing new rules limiting the use of CT scans – detailed 3D X-rays – in private health checks offered to healthy people.

The regulations follow concerns about high levels of radiation exposure from CT scans, and the potential for anxiety caused by misleading test results. The new guidelines will stop some scans altogether, and require others to tie in better with NHS services.

What do we know already?Many companies offer medical check-ups for healthy people, sometimes described as health MOTs. The idea is to identify health problems early, allowing preventative steps to be taken. However, some doctors have criticised the idea, saying that tests often pick up small abnormalities that don’t pose any risk, but cause anxiety and might need further, more invasive tests to put someone’s mind at rest.

Of particular concern are check-ups that use CT scans. These are detailed X-rays that build a 3D picture by taking a series of cross-sectional ‘slices’ through the body. However, CT scans use large amounts of radiation, with one CT scan equalling the dose of between 30 and 442 chest X-rays. The doses are high enough to lead to a small but real increase in the risk of cancer. Government to ban whole-body CT scans for ‘health MOTs’ | Life and style | BMJ Group

April 12, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | health, UK | antinuclear, nuclear, nuclear secrecy, radioactive