radiologists, say good bye to cardiac CT!!!!
Radiologists, say goodbye to cardiac CT
When radiologists look back on how ultrasound and nuclear medicine evolved, some lament battles lost. Once firmly in the grip of radiologists, these modalities slipped from their grasp into the hands of other specialists, notably those of cardiologists. It's about to happen again—this time in CT.
At the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics conference in Washington, DC, Philips Medical Systems will unveil a 16-slice CT scanner designed specifically for diagnostic cardiologists working in private practice. The aptly named Brilliance CT Private Practice CV could single-handedly dash the hope that radiologists might extend their reach into cardiology. Even more ominous, this device, which has been optimized not only for cardiac but also for vascular studies, will provide cardiologists with the tools for CT angiography.
Philips plans to begin shipping its new CT before the end of this year. Other such systems are sure to follow. Until now, CT manufacturers have been loading cardiac software on premium systems and pricing them well beyond the reach of cardiologists. Not so for Philips' new CT product, which is priced under $700,000 with the express intent of drawing cardiologists to buy it.
In retrospect, it seems inevitable that some company would do what Philips is doing. Echocardiography systems are optimized for cardiology and have been for a long time. The same is true for gamma cameras operating in nuclear cardiology. These products became popular when they were priced within the budgets of their intended customers: cardiologists.
Until this year, 16-slice scanners were at the top of the food chain. The impending debut of 32-, 40-, and 64-slice products changed that, dropping 16-slice systems well below a million dollars. As the march of technology continues, these systems will cost less and less, and they will be less and less appealing to radiologists. Philips is the first to jump on the commercial possibilities that this change is bringing about. They will not be the last.
In the years ahead, 32- and 64-slice scanners, whose capabilities will be even more suited to cardiology, will drop in price to the range now filled by 16-slice scanners. With that, the fate of radiologists' future in cardiac CT will be sealed.
Market forces will dictate which specialty controls cardiac CT—possibly even CTA. In the past, these forces have not been kind to radiology. They are about to get worse.
When radiologists look back on how ultrasound and nuclear medicine evolved, some lament battles lost. Once firmly in the grip of radiologists, these modalities slipped from their grasp into the hands of other specialists, notably those of cardiologists. It's about to happen again—this time in CT.
At the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics conference in Washington, DC, Philips Medical Systems will unveil a 16-slice CT scanner designed specifically for diagnostic cardiologists working in private practice. The aptly named Brilliance CT Private Practice CV could single-handedly dash the hope that radiologists might extend their reach into cardiology. Even more ominous, this device, which has been optimized not only for cardiac but also for vascular studies, will provide cardiologists with the tools for CT angiography.
Philips plans to begin shipping its new CT before the end of this year. Other such systems are sure to follow. Until now, CT manufacturers have been loading cardiac software on premium systems and pricing them well beyond the reach of cardiologists. Not so for Philips' new CT product, which is priced under $700,000 with the express intent of drawing cardiologists to buy it.
In retrospect, it seems inevitable that some company would do what Philips is doing. Echocardiography systems are optimized for cardiology and have been for a long time. The same is true for gamma cameras operating in nuclear cardiology. These products became popular when they were priced within the budgets of their intended customers: cardiologists.
Until this year, 16-slice scanners were at the top of the food chain. The impending debut of 32-, 40-, and 64-slice products changed that, dropping 16-slice systems well below a million dollars. As the march of technology continues, these systems will cost less and less, and they will be less and less appealing to radiologists. Philips is the first to jump on the commercial possibilities that this change is bringing about. They will not be the last.
In the years ahead, 32- and 64-slice scanners, whose capabilities will be even more suited to cardiology, will drop in price to the range now filled by 16-slice scanners. With that, the fate of radiologists' future in cardiac CT will be sealed.
Market forces will dictate which specialty controls cardiac CT—possibly even CTA. In the past, these forces have not been kind to radiology. They are about to get worse.
radiologists, say good bye to cardiac CT!!!!
![]()
Reviewed by Sumer Sethi
on
Monday, October 04, 2004
Rating:
Sumer Sethi
Unique blend of academic excellence and entrepreneurship, heading leading firms in India- Teleradiology Providers, pioneering company providing teleradiology services and DAMS (Delhi Academy of Medical Sciences) Premier test preparation institute in India for MD/MS/MCI preparation. He has also been an invited faculty member at various conferences, including Teleradiology in IRIA 2008 and 2011, Hospital Build Middle East, Congress of the Brain Tumor Radiology in Neuro-oncology Society. Dr. Sethi is Editor-in-Chief of Internet Journal of Radiology. He has a keen interest in Web 2.0 technologies and in maintaining his famous radiology blog, which has been featured in multiple international journals.
1 comment:
The author of this article obviously has no knowledge of medical imaging, health care, or health care economics. Now that it is 2006 and cardiology has made virtually no inroads into this field, perhaps this individual has learned through hindsight. If not, then listen and learn:
There is no "customization" of a CT scanner for cardiac CT; that notion is simply ridiculous and anyone who believes otherwise doesn't understand how CT scanners work. If a scanner does cardiac CT well it does everything else well too. Radiologists have purchased far more CT scanners than cardiologists and are therefore in a far better position to perform and interpret cardiac CT. Furthermore, cardiologists would have to participate in the most egregious self-referral in order to make a CT scanner purchase profitable, and the medical community won't stand for this irresponsible use of radiation.
Post a Comment