New tool for screening lung cancer

Thu, 02 Nov 2006

A new type of software could become commercially available in the United States . The software enhances chest x-rays and identifies areas that need to be scrutinised further. The tool is known as Computer-Aided Detection (CAD), and has been developed by Kodak .

The developers are hoping that if the tool gets approval for US use, insurance companies will be interested in purchasing it for patient testing before life and health insurance policies can be approved.

David Faller, the general manager for CAD business, said: "Using CAD on digital chest x-rays could help physicians determine the most appropriate patients to refer for the more expensive and labor-intensive CT lung scan. The procedure has the potential to make CT scans more practical for early lung cancer detection and improve patient care."

A high ranking official for the health plan trade group America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), voiced further caution, saying: "The essential first step for bringing a product to market in the United States is getting FDA approval; but this does not guarantee that physicians will use it or insurers will cover it. When it comes to using technology in screening, there are many other procedures and reviews involved. There are two things that drive coverage of any procedure. The most important is a sizeable body of medical evidence that shows that the new product provides the best level of intervention for a particular disorder. When it comes to screening procedures, the United States Preventive Services Task Force is one of the major scientific groups that reviews technologies as they come to market and determines whether they can viably screen for a particular condition."
add to favouritesnewsletterlink to this pagesend to friendpost comments

Link to this page

Copy and Paste the following HTML into your page.

newsnews rss
healthinsurance news
Health insurer finds stress an issue - Tue, 18 Nov 2008
Taking control with health insurance - Mon, 17 Nov 2008
Rival to health insurance - Wed, 12 Nov 2008
More News
Health Insurance Partners