Guidelines for Full Body CT Scans?
With the convenience and popularity of full body CT scans increasing as a simple solution to detect the ever growing number of maladies cropping up in aging bodies Menlo Park's Almanac reports that some doctors warn of the risks inherent to the technology. Advertisements for body scans espouse the procedure’s ability to identify heart disease, lung disease and cancer and other ailments, but do not mention the plausible health side effects of the scan itself. In addition to this, the FDA provides no regulatory standards for the scanning industry. When considering the potential dangers of false positives and radiation exposure, is it right to steer people who show no symptoms of problems toward a treatment that could damage an otherwise healthy body? Should there be professional standards or guidelines for when it is (and is not) appropriate for someone to receive a body scan? Or should this aspect of medicine remain Caveat Emptor--and hope that "informed consent" will wash away any problems?contribute a comment
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