Dear AuntMinnie Insider,
Computer-aided detection (CAD) is poised to assume a larger role in virtual colonoscopy reading, as developers continue to hone their CAD schemes in hopes of a friendlier U.S. regulatory environment that would allow more systems to be sold.
Across the pond, researchers from University College Hospital in London are taking a closer look at the interaction between CAD and reader. This issue's Insider Exclusive article examines the effect of multiple false-positive detections on readers when virtual colonoscopy CAD is turned on after the initial read. Do readers dismiss true positives and latch onto false negatives when too many CAD detections pop up? Find out by clicking here.
Researchers are also hopeful that CAD will find the flat polyps readers are having difficulty detecting.
Today in the Virtual Colonoscopy Digital Community we bring you a unique study by a multinational team that analyzed the costs and benefits of virtual colonoscopy with the inclusion of extracolonic findings. The first such cost-benefit analysis we're aware of found that virtual colonoscopy's ability to detect abdominal aortic aneurysm makes it more cost-effective than optical colonoscopy, though solid tumors in organs played a smaller role.
In news from Korea, find out how automated insufflation aids in the detection of stenosing cancers. And see how a large screening program in Seoul is getting excellent results.
Finally, U.S. providers are encouraged by the American Cancer Society's recent inclusion of virtual colonoscopy in its five-year screening guidelines, which brings VC a step closer to widespread screening.
