Virtual Physicals

[jkapache]

Hi, a friend just told me about virtual physicals in Baltimore (?). I am just curiouse if anyone has ever had one done? I guess its like a full body CT and they can also take images of your heart, liver ect. I am really considering doing it, I dont have much to loose, except airfare and the cost. Ive had POTS for 4 years, and although it prob wont be educational for the pots stuff, I have had alot of fractures lately and joint pain so maybe this would be helpful?!

http://www.virtualphysical.com/index_virtualphysical.html

[flop]

In the UK these full body check-up CT scans have been banned because the dose of radiation from the scan is too high. They said that the risk of cancer from the CT scan was too high for healthy people to be exposed to. They say that you should only have CT scans when there is a medical reason to do a scan and that only the relevant bit of the body should be scanned.

I don't know if anywhere does full body MRI scans for screening? MRI uses magnets rather than radiation so is much safter. But MRI scans are more expensive and take much longer so I guess it might not be cost-effective.

Flop

[futurehope]

I live in Baltimore. I would not subject myself to that much radiation so I didn't have one done.

[potsgirl]

Hi Jess,

I've also heard about these full-body scans and done some research into them. Everything I've read so far is more negative than positive, and most doctors don't agree with this process. It's too much radiation, and can do more harm than good. Like others here have said, I'd definitely only do a CT or MRI scan of what body part is creating the most problems for you. If you do go ahead and have it done, please let us know what it was like...

Cheers,

jana

[jkapache]

THANK YOU all for your responses! I have yet to talk to the people at VP or my dr, he may say its not a good idea anyhow, but according to the site, the radiation used is about 1/3 less then a reg CT scan. Is that still to much? Im considering doing it becasue ive had an mri of my back and both knees, CT scan of the knees and a full body bone scan, and still everything looks ok, but I have the pain, I amthinking that it is the POTS causing all of this pain. But I also get headaches almost everyday, and my periods are he**! I had an internal ultra sound 2 yrs ago but things were ok.... my thought is that with this scan, Maybe, we would get a better idea if anything is going on... but of course if it is dangerouse then forget it!!

Q. What kind of equipment is used for the Virtual Physical?

A. Virtual Physical utilizes a Secura CT Scanner from Philips Medical Systems. One of the world's most advanced CT Scanners, it can scan and reconstruct images within one second. It also uses only about one third of the radiation dose required by some other CT systems.

[Csmith3]

I don't know how old you are, but I'm not sure they are designed for what you have in mind. Certainly in the UK, they are aimed at 40+ year olds and mainly to detect calcium deposits in the heart (ie heart disease) and certain cancers (primarily lung cancers in smokers, but also colon cancers and a few others) at the very early stages. The advice here is only to get a scan if you are in a high risk category for heart disease or lung cancer. The selling point is that the scan is more accurate than those used in routine screening, so treatment could be started early.

I would also check whether it is truly a full body scan. Often they target certain areas only (heart, lungs and cancer hotspots) rather than everything.

What it isn't is a tool to diagnose the unknown and I wonder if it will get you any further in your search for the cause of your pain, particularly when you have had several scans to no avail. Don't get me wrong, I do sympathise with chronic pain and your frustration. I guess you need to discuss the best approach with your doctor as the scanning companies do just that, scan and look for obvious abnormalities, and you need someone to put this in context with your medical history and deal with any follow up.