And what about radiation dosage – how about 0.1 mSv for a lung scan?. For example, with the Siemens SOMATOM Force dual source scanner (about $3M) images of the chest and abdomen can be acquired in one second. The most exciting reports on radiation reduction are coming out of Vancouver General Hospital where, in conjunction with Siemen’s state-of-the-art third generation equipment and low-dose algorithms, radiation doses comparable to those from plain x-rays are being achieved in selected studies. To educate the radiologic community regarding what can be done to limit radiation to children the Image Gently project () was organized by a consortium of concerned organizations. As a result some patients receive a lot more radiation than they need to – and this is especially an issue in young children (who are particularly susceptible to the long-term carcinogenic effects of radiation). The amount of radiation associated with CT scans is very variable based on where and how they are performed. When it comes to radiation, a plain c-spine x-ray delivers about 0.2 mSv while a CT of the cervical spine delivers about 4-6 mSv (which I find surprisingly high since a head CT is about 2 mSv). And as more and more studies are done, costs per scan should come down (if the laws of economics applied to medicine – but that’s another story) But, the point is that in reality, CT scans don’t really cost that much – it is the charges that are the problem. Commercial insurance plans can expect to pay a lot more (generally at least a multiple of what Medicare pays). Expect to be charged about $300 for a neck x-ray and about $1,700 for a CT – but variance in charges are enormous between facilities. Medicare will reimburse about $75 for a neck x-ray while it will pay about $150 for a CT of the neck. We all know that the astronomical charges for CTs have little relationship to the cost of the study – even including a reasonable profit margin. Can we talk? It’s no secret that CT scanners are printing presses for money. So the issues come down to cost and radiation.
Why would anyone who is going to be imaged not get the best imaging? What would you want for yourself or your family? Simple.Īnd the fact is that unequivocally, CT scans are superior to plain films. Now we have three choices in minor neck injuries – no imaging, plain x-rays or CT scans. Fast forward 20 years and CT scanners are ubiquitous and ordering one is simple – just check the box.