Abdominal CT imaging has great potential for Opportunistic screening: Study

Dr. Pickhardt suggests that Abdominal CT scans has a significant potential to evaluate other health indicators in a process that is becoming known as opportunistic screening due to the widespread use.

His findings were presented at the International Society for Computed Tomography (ISCT) meeting 2022.

Computed Tomography's (CT) extensive supplementary data is frequently ineffective. However, pertinent metrics like body composition might be employed for a quick and accurate evaluation of a patient's health. This application of CT would enhance already-provided services.

Pickhardt noted that the test is prevalent in adults for a number of clinical causes when he discussed numerous ways that CT may be used to enhance patient care through early screening. Due to a number of interrelated factors, such as the objective and generalizable nature of CT imaging, the high volume of adult body CT scans, the advent of fully automated artificial intelligence solutions, the focus on precision medicine, and value-added initiatives, opportunistic CT screening is currently relevant.

Additionally, useful information is provided by CT-based body composition indicators for fat, muscle, calcium, liver, and bone. These comparable manual, semi-automated, and fully automated procedures may be used with almost any abdomen or chest CT, whether it contains intravenous contrast or not. Utilizing extra clinical CT imaging data might reduce healthcare expenses, particularly if artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities are also applied. The author mentioned studies that showed AI-assisted CT-based opportunistic screening to be a financially and clinically advantageous tactic, and that it was in fact "cost-saving under most circumstances."

The Opportunistic Screening Consortium in Abdominal Radiology (OSCAR), which will contain data from 1 million people, is collaborating with the UW on a multicenter research project using a population-based mixed CT cohort of 150,000 patients. It's feasible that CT may be used as a stand-alone wellness screening tool, integrating measurements of body composition that might signify illness as well as colorectal and lung cancer screening.

Reference: Perry Pickhardt, Opportunistic Imaging with CT, International Society for Computed Tomography 2022,