Friday, July 28, 2006
More Americans "too fat for x-rays," say radiology researchers
The increasing number of obese Americans means two things for radiology: first, many are too heavy to be safely accommodated by scanning devices. Second, more people have so much body mass, the rays can't penetrate enough to yield quality imaging. Here's a BBC story summarizing a Radiology Journal report from the publication's August 2006 issue and here's a free abstract. The full text requires subscription. The synopsis:
Advances in imaging technology between 1989 and 2003 have focused on improving image quality; however, there has been a small but progressively increasing number of radiology reports described as "limited by body habitus."I believe that's docspeak for human fat. As in, "Honey, does this body habitus make my butt look big?" (Thanks, Joe)
posted by Xeni Jardin at 02:33:55 PM permalink | Other blogs' comments
