Original articleGeneral thoracicMobile Lung Screening: Should We All Get on the Bus?
Section snippets
Patients and Methods
A quick search for a commercially available mobile lung screening vehicle that fit our geographic needs revealed none existed. Computed tomography (CT) scanners are a sensitive, complex electrical machine that require climate control and a level environment to operate. Historically, they have been placed in tractor trailers and parked on level concrete slabs connected to external power supplies. We needed mobility, self-leveling, independent power, climate control, patient comfort, and
Results
The prototype bus was delivered to Chattanooga in January 2018 (Figure 2). It was taken to a certified automated truck scale for verification of its weight. Fully loaded, the bus weighed 27,900 lbs. That was 400 lbs over the GVWR. It was returned to Medical Coaches where the cabinets were replaced with a lighter material. Nonessential equipment like a rear ladder, trailer hitch, and handicap lift were removed. The final weight was reduced to 26,820 lbs. This modification along with training of
Comment
Mobile lung screening is not new, it dates back to 1996 in Japan when Sone and associates12 utilized a CT scanner in a van. They were able to perform more than 13,000 scans for more than 5000 patients from 1996 to 1998. Ten-year survival was calculated to be 86.2% for deaths from lung cancer.12 The Levine Cancer Center has also started a mobile lung cancer screening program centered around a very specific population at risk in North Carolina.
Late stage cancer treatment is known to be expensive
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