More than 8,000 patients have already been imaged by the Health Check Bus in Taiwan. The project started in July 2022 in Yunjianan and Penghu, an area comprising the county of Yunlin, Chiayi, Penghu and Tainan city. It is a cooperation between InnoCare Optoelectronics and the College of Medicine at National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) and focuses on mobile X-ray lung screening.
The Health Check Bus is equipped with KA Imaging’s Reveal 35C. Reveal™ 35C is a single exposure, portable, digital dual-energy subtraction (DES) X-ray detector. Powered by SpectralDR™ technology, it uses the same radiation dose as a chest X-ray to create three different images without motion artifacts. In medical applications, this means a regular DR, plus a soft tissue and bone images.
Although Low Dose Computed Tomography (LDCT) is the current gold standard for lung cancer screening, it still has a few limitations. To be imaged, patients must visit the hospital; however, equipment distribution and availability is uneven. Therefore, having a high-volume screening tool that can be taken to patients and offer better insights than traditional X-ray can be a game changer.
The project is the largest epidemiological screening of lung cancer in Taiwan. Its results will be used as a reference for future changes in lung cancer prevention and control policies. It is expected to image 10,000 people.
“Reveal 35C has already been clinically proven to better detect lung lesions”, said Amol Karnick, President and CEO of KA Imaging. “Our studies show that radiographic spectral images can play an important role in earlier detection, and we’re excited to see how our technology will improve outcomes in such a high-volume project” he continued.
James Yang, chairman of InnoCare Optoelectronics, pointed out that “the additional soft tissue and bone images can help doctors diagnose a number of chest diseases early, and could be used further in any health check up projects, including the ones targeting remote rural areas, greatly benefiting patients and medical institutions.” According to InnoCare, access to lung screening tools in remote areas is less than 30% in Taiwan.