University of Michigan Helps Develop Low-Impact CT

Radiologists at the University of Michigan have been helping to develop a new technology that performs a CT scan at a fraction of the radiation dose required for a conventional CT, according to a press release by the University of Michigan Health System. GE Healthcare is said to have collaborated with university radiologists over the past decade developing its Veo technology. The breakthrough device uses the equivalent amount of radiation as one or two chest x-rays compared to standard CT scans that can use up to 70 times the radiation dose of a single x-ray, according to a radiology professor quoted in the story. University doctors say Veo is not the only effort to reduce radiation exposure. Using non-ionizing radiation such as ultrasound and MRI as much as possible, tying radiation dose to patient size and selecting well-trained technologists are also major strategies. To read the press release click here.