Colorectal Cancer News

Increase in Use of Virtual Colonoscopies in US Hospitals

Even though they’re not covered by Medicare – yet – the use of virtual colonoscopies is on the rise says a new study published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology. Virtual colonoscopies, also known as computerized tomographic colonography (CTC), use virtual reality technology to produce a 3-D image, allowing doctors to view the entire colon and rectum without the invasive procedure of a colonoscopy for colon cancer screening. The use increased from 13% of hospitals in 2005 to 17% in 2008.

The study cited three reasons for this rise in use: the advantage of using the virtual colonoscopy for frail and elderly patients, the desire to avoid long colonoscopy wait times, and increase in published studies with promising evidence for the virtual colonoscopy.

References
Preidt, Robert. Use of Virtual Colonoscopy on the Rise in U.S. Hospitals. HealthDay. 2011 March 1.

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