THE USEFULNESS OF MOBILE COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY IN A RURAL AREA

抄録

Introduction : Nakazato village is located in the far-southwest region of Gunma prefecture. It takes at least one hour to go to the nearest general hospital. Author's clinic does not have a CT scanning device. Until that time, every patient went to far hospitals by oneself, when CT scan was necessary for further examination. This study adverted to the usefulness of Mobile CT in a rural clinic. Patients and Methods : Between June 1995 and October 1997, 20 patients needed CT scanning because of further examination. The mean age was 72 years old, and the ratio of male to female was 9 to 11. Results : Seven patients had surgical treatment for cancer, and we had suspected recurrence of primary cancer. Four patients needed CT scanning in following various diseases. Nine patients had an abnormal shadow on chest roentgenogram. The disease was detected in 8 patients (40 %) out of 20 patients. Of 7 postoperative cancer patients, 2 had primary cancer recurrence, each of which was lung cancer and breast cancer. Of the remaining 9, 6 patients had a disease, which was chronic bronchitis in 2 patients, and bronchoectasia, emphysema, lung abscess and pleuritis in 1 each. Conclusion : Using the mobile CT makes it easy for patients to take further examination. We deliberate that this device is useful and recommends for rural clinics or hospitals, which do not have a CT scanning device.