Asbestos HUB

New X-Ray Technology to Aid in Asbestos Disease Diagnosis Posted: 31 Mar 2009 06:07 PM PDT Some interesting stuff coming out of the Asbestos Disease Awareness Conference held in California over the weekend (end of March 2009). Fox News reports that Michael Harbut, M.D., MPH, co-director of the National Center for Vermiculite and Asbestos-Related Cancers announced the use of a new technology to aid in the diagnosis of asbestos-related lung disease. “Radiographic approaches developed by Carmen Endress, M.D., FACR, Associate Professor of Radiology, Wayne State University School of Medicine and radiologist at the NCVAC, allow us to visualize lesions caused by asbestos exposure in three dimensional detail and often at a much earlier stage than that of the current standard radiographic techniques,” said Harbut. The new technology will enable earlier detection, and a better way to identify differentiation between patients with scarring on the lungs and other diseases. According to Harbut, the early detection can have a significant public-health impact. “If we can identify the ’sentinel’ or first cases of asbestosis or lung cancer at an early stage, then we can help identify asbestos exposures in places where it might not have previously been suspected. Such identification of early detection could help to reduce the death rate from asbestos-related diseases.” The use of this technology in the diagnosis and treatment of asbestos-related cancers and high-malignancy potential asbestos-related diseases represents another first for Karmanos Cancer Institute scientists and physicians. Read more about the Karmanos Cancer Institute and the new technology on Fox News.com.