An empirical study on the usefulness of early diagnosis of new coronavirus pneumonia using a CT-equipped vehicle (CT examination vehicle), which Associate Professor Tsuneo Yamashiro of the Graduate School of Medicine, Yokohama City University, is working as a research and development representative, It was adopted by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) as a "Technology Development Project for Countermeasures against Infectious Diseases such as Viruses".The final maintenance of the CT-equipped vehicle, such as the implementation of infection control equipment and remote diagnostic imaging equipment, is scheduled to begin in early August 2020.
Pneumonia (new coronavirus pneumonia) is the most common disease caused by new coronavirus infections.Elderly people and those with some underlying illness often develop pneumonia, and the case fatality rate is by no means low in severe pneumonia.
The new coronavirus pneumonia can hardly be detected by a normal chest X-ray examination (X-ray) at the initial stage, and can be diagnosed only by chest CT.However, the diagnostic accuracy is "high sensitivity but low specificity (although it can be generally identified by CT if new coronavirus pneumonia has developed, it is difficult to distinguish it from pneumonia caused by other causes on CT)". There are challenges, and given radiation exposure, it is not a test that should be done indiscriminately.
On the other hand, if a person whose infection is known by PCR or a person who is strongly suspected of being infected has already complained of symptoms suspected to be pneumonia, the presence or absence and severity of new coronavirus pneumonia should be promptly evaluated by CT. Has great significance from the viewpoint of leading to appropriate treatment at an early stage.
Therefore, Yokohama City University decided to build a "CT-equipped vehicle specializing in diagnostic imaging of the new coronavirus pneumonia" with various infection control measures (including medical air purifiers).This examination vehicle is equipped with a state-of-the-art, low-exposure CT scanner and a remote image diagnosis device capable of rapid image diagnosis, and is expected to be effectively used in various situations.In collaboration with local governments, we will search for "effective usage" and actively explore how we can contribute to Japanese society in the Wiz Corona era.
