GE Healthcare has announced that its low dose computed tomography (CT) lung cancer screening option is cleared by the US FDA for lung cancer screening, and can be used with a range of the company’s qualified 16-slice CT scanner systems.

GE Healthcare has released new low-dose screening reference protocols that are tailored to its low-dose CT systems qualified for lung cancer screening. These new screening protocols are tailored to the CT system, patient size, and the most current recommendations from a range of professional medical and governmental organizations. The qualified GE Healthcare CT scanners can be used by physicians within their FDA-cleared indications for use, delivering low dose, short scan times, and sharp images for the detection of small lung nodules. These nodules are critical in identifying lung cancer at its earliest stages when it is the most treatable and curable.

According to GE, both the US Preventative Services Task Force and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recommend the use of low dose CT lung cancer screening for high-risk individuals. The company reports that Medicare also has approved insurance reimbursement for its beneficiaries who are eligible for the use of low dose CT lung cancer screening in high-risk patients. Early detection from an annual lung cancer screening with low dose CT in high-risk persons can prevent a substantial number of lung cancer-related deaths.

All new 64-slice and greater CT scanners, and virtually all of the 16-slice CT scanners that GE Healthcare sells are qualified systems and will include the screening option, the company reports. The solution that GE Healthcare developed is also available to qualified GE scanners currently in use, which helps increase access to the scanners that satisfy both patient and physician needs. The new protocols can utilize GE Healthcare’s technologies such as ASiRTM, ASiR-VTM, and VeoTM that are designed to reduce image noise, which is undesirable for physicians looking for small nodules.

The FDA has cleared the following qualified GE Healthcare CT scanners to receive the new low dose CT lung cancer screening option: LightSpeed 16, BrightSpeed Elite, LightSpeed Pro16, Optima CT540, , Discovery CT590 RT, Optima CT580, Optima CT580 W, Optima CT590 RT, LightSpeed Xtra, LightSpeed RT16, LightSpeed Pro32, LightSpeed VCT, LightSpeed VCT XT, LightSpeed VCT XTe, LightSpeed VCT Select, Optima CT660, Revolution EVO, Discovery CT750 HD, Revolution Discovery CT, Revolution GSI, Revolution HD, and Revolution CT.

For more information about the protocols and qualified scanners, read the news release on the GE Healthcare website.