veo

veo?

is this the very latest 2011 automobile that consumers will flock to the showrooms to view and test drive?

no.

but it's truly significant that asia healthpartners has chosen to install veo, ge healthcare's most advanced ct scanner. the manufacturer also congratulated asia healthpartners being the very first centre in the world to do so.

veo is the world's first model-based iterative reconstruction product that delivers high resolution images, improved low contrast detectability and artefact suppresion at radiation doses as low as 1/8th of its predecessor (lightspeed vct).

my comments:

with the latest in medical imaging diagnostic equipment, this should translate to clearer and better defined images enabling faster and more accurate diagnosis. more importantly, the veo boasts drastically reduced cumulative dose, benefitting children, women and patients who require regular follow-up ct scans.

for example, european dose limits specify the following:

ct head - 2.3 mSv
ct abdomen - 10 mSv
ct thorax - 8 mSc

in comparison, the veo has the following radiation exposure:

ct head - 0.5 mSv
ct abdomen and pelvis - 0.68 mSv
ct thorax - 0.09 mSv

mSv = milliSievert*

*from: http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Booklets/Radiation/radsafe.html#two

Measuring Radiation
The amount of radiation the `dose' received by people is measured in millisieverts (mSv). This unit belongs to the same family as the litre and kilogram, the most commonly accepted, international system of units.

with more advanced medical imaging diagnostic tools, coupled with the most potent patented drugs will up the ante in terms of accelerating healthcare costs. but on the other side of the equation, it is surely a great boon to enable early detection and early diagnosis of critical illnesses.

that is why insurers here are quick to offer what i term as new generation ci products to give consumers additional protection for early stage critical illnesses and even multiple claims.

for survivors of critical illnesses, they will definitely appreciate the new generation ci products probably more than their fellow homo sapiens because the former will understand it is almost impossible for them to take up additional ci protection policies. this is especially so for cancer survivors because of the high probability of relapse during the first 5 year period after the remission of their cancers.

unfortunately and ironically, i know this all too well because the relapse happened to my beloved younger brother who was just 3 over months short of his 5 year cancer free period and has since passed on to a better place.