Health Technology Update - Issue 8
Scanning the horizon
Informing decision makers about emerging medical technologies
PET scan of the lung and abdomen.
Image courtesy of the Great-West Life PET/CT Centre at the Health Sciences Centre, Winnipeg.
Our inaugural issue of Health Technology Update, in 2005, provided an update on positron emission tomography (PET) in Canada. Two years later, PET is still a hot topic here, partly because the technology is expensive to buy and operate and also because of the shortage of trained technologists and the complexities involved in licensing and producing the cyclotron-generated radiopharmaceuticals.
Positron Emission Tomography in Canada: An Update
Siemens Biograph™ 16 HR PET/CT scanner
Photo courtesy of the Great-West Life PET/CT Centre at the Health Sciences Centre, Winnipeg.
Positron emission tomography (PET) is a non-invasive nuclear medicine imaging technology that produces images of metabolic processes in the body. PET can be used to visualize abnormalities of metabolism caused by cancer, heart disease, and neurological disorders.
PET Scan Funding in Canada
The clinical use of positron emission tomography (PET) in Canada continues to expand, primarily for the evaluation and management of several types of cancer.
Location of Publicly Funded PET Scanners and Cyclotrons in Canada
Private PET Scan Clinics in Canada
Their locations in Canada and the cost per scan
Gender Solutions™: Knee Replacement Implants for Women
Differences between the Gender Solutions™ High-Flex Knee implant and a traditional implant.
Images © Zimmer, Inc. Used by permission only.
Knee replacement implants designed for women acknowledge anatomical differences and attempt to overcome perceived limitations of existing unisex implants.
CorCap™: A Support Device for the Failing Heart
The CorCap™ Cardiac Support Device
Photo courtesy of Acorn Cardiovascular, Inc.
CorCap™ is a supportive device that is sewn around the heart to help normalize its shape and function. It may improve quality of life for some patients with heart failure.
The Treatment of Cancer Pain from Bone Metastases Using ExAblate® (Magnetic Resonance-Guided Focused Ultrasound)
Once the MRI scanner has provided a three-dimensional image of the target, the ExAblate® transducer delivers high intensity focused ultrasound to the site.
Photo courtesy of InSightec Ltd.
Pain from bone metastases is often severe and can seriously decrease quality of life.
New and Emerging Health Technology Reports
Recent Issues in Emerging Health Technologies bulletins from CADTH