May 24, 2013
University of Alabama at Birmingham doctors have begun using a new scanner that is billed as the most sophisticated in the world in checking for cancer and heart and brain disease.
The scanner, which cost $2.25 million, was used by a patient at UAB for the first time Wednesday, with a second in line for scanning.
With detailed images, doctors can more effectively diagnose and determine the stage of cancer.
Dr. James Mountz, a professor of radiology and director of nuclear medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham said the scanner, called the Discovery-LS PET-CT, is the first in Alabama.
General Electric, which manufactures the scanner, has sold about 100 machines.
