Obesity and its Implications on Medical Imaging

"How many times have Radiologists written “study limited due to body habitus” on their reports without thinking for moment the problem faced by obese people in general for imaging studies. According to Dr. Raul N. Uppot and colleagues at Massachusetts General Hospital obesity disrupted 0.15% of all studies, with a statistically significant increase rate of 0.01% per year in the number of studies affected by body habitus since 1989. Ultrasound came up as the imaging modality most affected by obesity, followed by chest x-ray. The RSNA took notice of Uppot’s work and awarded him the 2004 Research Fellow Trainee Prize.

Fallout from Uppot’s study has been nonstop. The government of Virginia requested his testimony as an expert witness before it approved the installation of an MR scanner especially designed to fit larger patients. Several hospitals have approached him for talks on obesity and its impact on radiology. He has consulted for Siemens Medical Solutions, which unveiled its Definition CT scanner for obese patients at the 2005 RSNA meeting. (Similarly, Toshiba unveiled its “obese” scanner, the Aquilion LB, in 2005.) "

Detailed article here-

Diagnostic Imaging