The Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio; GE Healthcare of Chalfont St. Giles, U.K.; and Nashville, TN-based AmSurg are partnering to increase access to colon cancer screening technologies for patients across the country.
Cleveland Clinic will research the efficacy of GE's CT colonography (or virtual colonoscopy) technology as a colon cancer screening tool, while scans from AmSurg's ambulatory surgery centers are sent electronically to Cleveland Clinic radiologists for reading and analysis.
Researchers will compare CT colonoscopy images with those of traditional colonoscopy to better inform healthcare providers about the most appropriate and effective use of the screening tools.
"Although it is a highly preventable cancer, a very small percentage of people are actually getting screened," said Dr. Michael P. Recht, Cleveland Clinic's chairman of eRadiology, in an interview with AuntMinnie.com. "The estimates are that only 15% to 20% of people who should be getting a colonoscopy are getting it."
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that more than 40 million people in the U.S. receive no screening at all. The American Cancer Society recommends colonoscopy screening once every 10 years, starting at age 50, for people at average risk.
When found early, colon cancer is one of the most treatable forms of cancer. Despite the impact of early screening and prevention on colon cancer detection, more than 145,000 Americans are diagnosed each year and more than 50,000 deaths occur. Recht said that if everyone were to receive a colonoscopy screening, the need for colonoscopies would increase by more than 30,000 cases.
One critical element to the initiative's success is digital image management. "To offer (CT colonoscopy) to remote locations, we will need to develop ways to transmit, store, interpret, and send images over low-bandwidth communications," Recht added. "Right now, we don't have that (ability), because there is a large amount of data, and we're sending it by high-speed communication line."
He added that the three partners are in the process of recruiting a nationally known luminary to head the program. The plan is to have at least two AmSurg centers operational for CT colonoscopy by the third quarter of 2007, with the program escalating to 10 pilot centers in the next two to three years. "We anticipate it will take two to three years to develop the IT capabilities and allow us to do this remotely," Recht said.
Cleveland Clinic's department of eRadiology was created in 1998 and currently collaborates with 40 imaging centers in eight states. Its 10 radiologists handle more than 85,000 exams per year.
AmSurg was founded in 1992 to develop, acquire, and manage single-specialty ambulatory surgery centers in partnership with group physician practices. AmSurg has approximately 150 facilities, approximately 100 of which specialize in gastrointestinal and endoscopy procedures exclusively.
By Wayne Forrest
AuntMinnie.com staff writer
December 4, 2006
Related Reading
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New data reveal higher efficacy for primary VC screening, October 18, 2006
Automated CO2 insufflation edges patient-controlled air in VC, June 2, 2006
Virtual colonoscopy shows favorable safety profile, May 5, 2006
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