Abstract
Introduction of new diagnostic technology often brings about a change of clinical medicine. When introduced to multiphase health test areas, new techniques in rapid testing require special preparations and considerations.
Ultrasonography (US) and high-speed spiral CT of the lung are the recent examples.
Accuracy and coverage of US depends on visibility of the scanned areas as well as examiner skill. Such provisos mean that every US report must include the names of target organs and the degree of visibility for each scanned organ. If colon gas, thick fat layers or insufficient urine in the bladder limits visibility, causing US to fail to be fully diagnostic, examiners should honestly inform their examinees of these limitations to avoid overconfidence in the results.
High density-resolution of computed tomography (CT) is so far the only tool that can detect pale opacity of minute pulmonary adenocarcinoma not visible on plain chest X-rays. Therefore, CT is mandatory when health tests aim for early detection of lung cancer. Good throughput for high-speed spiral CT enables taking scout lung CT during multiphase health testing, but proper preparation for prompt film reading and reporting is necessary to complete all processes involved in comprehensive health evaluation in the three hours allowed for such testing.
