RADIOLOGY AND IMAGING

WEST SIDE RADIOLOGY 425 WEST 59TH ST((9TH & 10TH ) Tel: 590-2900 FAX: 523-6989	MIKLOS WIENBERGER, M.D. 325 WEST END AVE. AT 75TH ST. Tel: 874-6362
LENOX HILL RADIOLOGY 61 EAST 77TH ST (PARK & MADISON Tel: 772-3111	EAST SIDE RADIOLOGY 525 PARK AVE. (60TH & 61ST) Tel: 888-1000
MCCLANSKY & GRUNTHER 1 EAST 82ND or 5 EAST 82ND (5TH & MADISON) Tel: 535-9770 FAX: 988-1520	GRAMERCY RADIOLOGY 201 EAST 19TH ST (2ND & 3RD) Tel: 460-5300 FAX: 674-1913
WEST END MRI 130 WEST 79TH ST. (AMSTERDAM & COLUMBUS) Tel: 496-7300	LENOX HILL HOSPITAL DEPT. 100 EAST 77TH ST 3RD FLOOR Tel: 434-2900
NYDIC 1725 YORK AVE (90TH ST) Tel: 348-3900 Tel: 348-3828	MRI/CT SCANNING OF MANHATTAN 195 3RD AVE (17TH &18TH ) Tel: 982-1132
BEDSIDE X-RAY RT- P. MULLEN Tel: 466- 9330	DIAGNOSTIC RADIOLOGY 230 WEST 17TH ST (7TH & 8TH ) Tel:989-8999
EAST MANHATTAN DIAGNOSTICS 424 EAST 89TH ST.(YORK & 1ST) Tel: 410-5100 FAX: 410-2500	BARONE ETC. WOMEN'S IMAGING 1440 YORK AVE.(76TH & 77TH ) Tel: 988-1303
THYROID SCANS LENOX HILL HOSPITAL NUCLEAR DEPT. (77th & PARK AVE.) 3rd Floor 434-2630	Columbus Circle MRI and PET Open/Closed Magnets 1790 Broadway b/w 57th and 58th 212-977-4100
INNER IMAGING(EBT-calcium scans) 67 irving place 212-777-8900 to read about it on their website click here OTHER EBT LOCATIONS CLICK HERE	PET/CT SCAN 140 4th AVE between 13th and 14th 1-212-473-2300
RYE RADIOLOGY ASSOCIATES 30 Rye Ridge Plaza Rye Brook, NY 10573 phone # (914)-253-9200 fax # (914)-253-8827	Greenwich Hospital Radiology Dept. MRI # (203)-863-3540 CT # (203)-863-3960 Ultrasound # (203)-863-3049
Midtown Medical Pavilion 425 West 59th Street New York, NY 10019 Telephone: (212) 590-2900	MANHATTAN DIAGNOSTIC RADIOLOGY 400 EAST 66TH STREET ENTRANCE ON FIRST AVENUE 212-838-4243 203 EAST 60TH STREET ENTRANCE ON 60TH STREET AT THIRD AVENUE TEL: 212-486-5529

Screening Virtual Colonoscopy?

Full-Body CT Scans: Too Much Radiation? ACS News Center

Study Finds High Potential Doses, but Other Scan Dangers Likely Worse

September 3, 2004 06:57:13 AM PDT , ACS News Center

Those full-body CT scans advertised at some health care centers may be delivering as much radiation as a low-dose atomic bomb, according to a new study. And that means people who get them could be raising their cancer risk, researchers from Columbia University report in the journal Radiology (Vol. 232, No. 3:735-738).

"The radiation dose from a full-body CT scan is comparable to the doses received by some of the atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where there is clear evidence of increased cancer risk," said David J. Brenner, PhD, D.Sc, lead author of the study and professor of radiation oncology and public health at Columbia University in New York.

He calculated that a 45-year-old person who has one full-body CT scan would have a lifetime risk of dying from cancer because of that radiation of about 1 in 1,200. But if that same person got a scan a year for 30 years (30 total scans), his risk of dying from cancer because of that radiation would increase to almost 1 in 50. However, a person's overall risk of dying from cancer is affected by many things, including age, smoking and other lifestyle habits, and genetics.

Scans Not Suitable Screening Tool

The study is sure to add fuel to the already hot controversy over full-body computed tomography scans.

The scans are marketed as a way for healthy people to find diseases like lung cancer or colon cancer before symptoms become apparent. But many experts say there's little evidence the scans actually work as a screening tool. No studies have been done to determine whether screening for disease in this way actually saves lives or improves people's outcomes.

"Leading scientific and medical organizations not only do not endorse full-body CT screening, but also caution against use of this test," said Robert Smith, PhD, director of cancer screening for the American Cancer Society.

For one thing, the scans may show a person has nothing wrong when in fact there is disease present. Because the patient thinks he's healthy, he may not get other screening tests that could find his disease early.

Another problem: The scans may wrongly identify normal areas as suspicious. To know for sure, though, the patient must undergo costly and potentially risky invasive procedures to get a definitive diagnosis.

The risk of too much radiation exposure is just one more reason not to recommend the tests, said Smith.

"This is a genuine concern, but a comparatively minor concern" compared to the other reasons to avoid full-body CT screening, Smith said.

However, that doesn't mean people should avoid CT scans when they're needed to diagnose a disease.

"The risk-benefit equation changes dramatically for adults who are referred for CT scans for medical diagnosis," Brenner said. "Diagnostic benefits far outweigh the risks."