A technological breakthrough is allowing the University of
Michigan Health System to be the first teaching hospital in the
U.S. to perform some CT scans using a fraction of the radiation
dose required for a conventional CT image. Over the past decade,
U-M scientists have contributed to the research behind the new
GE Healthcare technology, known as Veo. “Reducing patients’
radiation exposure is a high priority for us,” says Ella
Kazerooni, M.D., M.S., professor of radiology at the U-M Medical
School. “The radiation dose for a standard chest CT is equal to
about 70 chest x-rays. In comparison, a chest CT using Veo can
use a radiation dose equivalent to just one or two chest
x-rays." Doses for scans using Veo, however, will vary depending
on factors like the size of the patient, the part of the body
being scanned, and the diagnostic task, Kazerooni notes. Veo was
installed on one CT scanner at U-M in late 2011 and the Health
System plans to offer the technology more widely in the future.
Veo is already in use in