Source: timesonline
An increasing number of Americans are unable to get full medical care because they are too obese to fit into scanners or their fat is too dense for X-rays or sound waves to penetrate, research by radiologists suggests.
With 64 per cent of the population overweight, the problem is worsening, Raul Uppot, a radiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, said.
“We noticed over the past couple of years that obesity was playing a role in our ability to see these images clearly,” he said.
Dr UppotÂ’s team reviewed radiology reports from 1989 to 2003. These included standard X-rays, CT scans, magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography.
Imprecise images caused by obesity have doubled over the past 15 years, and ultrasound images are affected the most.
Dr Uppot said: “I don’t know if you have seen those televisions where it is just whiteout? It looks like that.” (Reuters)
