LIFESAVER SCREENING PROCEDURES:
San Luis Diagnostic Center offers a variety of LifeSaver Screening Exams that can, literally, save your life. By popular demand, we have been offering
this program since 2003. With an aging population and "wellness" being at the top of everyone's minds, we are proud to offer these state-of-the-art
screening exams that have been shown to detect life-threatening diseases at an early stage where effective treatment can be still be initiated.
Prior to 2003, many people had to leave the local area to get these exams performed. With our complete LifeSaver program, these high-tech studies can now be performed right here in San Luis Obispo.
Prior to 2003, many people had to leave the local area to get these exams performed. With our complete LifeSaver program, these high-tech studies can now be performed right here in San Luis Obispo.
CT TOTAL BODY SCAN
- Full body scanning is one of the most significant advances in modern medical diagnostics.
- Our full body scan screens for a wide variety of conditions, including stroke, brain tumors, thyroid cancer, possible narrowing of the blood vessels to the brain, lung cancer, liver caner, kidney cancer, pancreatic cancer, ovarian cancer, lymph gland cancer, kidney stones, gallstones and aortic aneurysm (dilation of the main artery in your chest and abdomen).
Procedure:
The full body scan is a very brief, non-claustrophobic scan, taking about 10 minutes. You will be asked to remove any jewelry, belt, and underwire bra, but
otherwise, you can leave your clothing on.
Results:
A San Luis Diagnostic Center's Board Certified Radiologist will interpret your examination. Results are sent to you, and if you request, your personal physician.
CT LUNG SCAN
- San Luis Diagnostic Center LifeSaver CT Lung scan can identify lung disease much earlier than conventional chest x-rays.
- Early lung cancer detection appears to improve the chances of successful treatment and possible cure.
- Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States.
- The cure rate of lung cancer is only 12%. However, when detected and treated in the early stage, lung cancer survival rate can reach as high as 70%.
Recommendations:
Prime candidates for this exam are men and women who smoke or are former smokers. Also, if you have been exposed to any significant second hand smoke, you
should consider this exam.
Procedure:
The LifeSaver CT Lung Scan is completely painless and effortless. It requires no preparation and can be completed in less than 10 minutes.
Results:
A San Luis Diagnostic Center's Board Certified Radiologist will interpret your examination. Results are sent to you, and if you request, your personal physician.
CARDIAC CALCIUM SCORING (HEART SCREENING)
- Many people have heart disease with very few detectable symptoms.
- Heart disease is the #1 killer of both men and women in America.
- Women are 8 times more likely to die from heart disease than they are from breast cancer.
- The San Luis Diagnostic Center LifeSaver Program offers "Cardiac Calcium Scoring", which allows us to measure the amount of calcium (plaque) in the coronary arteries. (These are the arteries that supply blood, and therefore oxygen, to the muscle of the heart.)
- Cardiac Calcium Scoring has been scientifically confirmed to be the most powerful predictor of heart attacks, sudden death, and other manifestations of coronary heart disease. With our 16-slice high-speed CT scanner, we use proven technology to provide heart screening resulting in early detection of Coronary Artery Disease.
Recommendations:
Prime candidates for a Heart Scan are men 40 and older and women 45 and older with one or more risk factors for heart disease, such as smoking, high blood pressure,
high cholesterol, or history of cardiac disease in the family. A quantitative way to determine if you are a candidate for a Heart Scan is to calculate your Framingham Risk Score or FRS.
This scoring system incorporates age, gender and information regarding cholesterol levels, blood pressure, smoking habits and other heart attack risk factors. The Framingham Risk Score shows your
chance of having a "cardiac event" in the next ten years as a percentage of 100. For example, if you have a FRS of 20%, that means there is a 1 in 5 change you will suffer a heart attack,
suddenly drop dead from a heart attack or begin having chest pain from a plugged artery in the heart in the next ten years. A link to a FRS calculator is provided below for your use. When
you have obtained your FRS, if you find that you are in the 10-20% Framingham 10 year risk category, then you are definitely a candidate for a Heart Scan.
Calculate your Framingham Risk Score
Calculate your Framingham Risk Score
Procedure:
We perform heart scans on our state-of-the-art, high-speed 16-slice CT scanner. We take images of calcium in the blood vessels of the heart by "freezing"
the motion of the heart with the use of an electrocardiogram monitor. The Heart Scan itself takes about 5 minutes. You can expect to be at the Center
for about 15 minutes total.
Results:
A San Luis Diagnostic Center's Board Certified Radiologist will interpret your examination. We compare the calcium score to a database of people who are
in the same age and gender as you are. That comparison identifies those patients who are at risk and who need to take early corrective action. Equipped with
this information, your personal physician can recommend lifestyle changes or medication to help stop or even reverse heart disease.
Additional Information:
Please see our brochure for more information regarding Coronary Calcium Scoring.
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Coronary Calcium Scoring: Early Heart Disease Detection
(Adobe PDF - 3.14 MB)* 
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VIRTUAL COLONOSCOPY
- Colorectal cancers are the second most common cancers in men and women.
- Over 60,000 Americans die from colon cancer every year, yet it is 90% curable if detected early.
- Virtual colonoscopy is the most advanced new method to screen for colorectal cancer. This advanced FDA-approved method is safer and faster than conventional colonoscopy. It is less invasive and does not involve the placement of a scope within the rectum.
- 75% of people who should be screened are not.
- Virtual colonoscopy provides an alternative to the more invasive colon scope.
Recommendations:
Regular colon cancer screenings are a very important part of an overall wellness program. Recommendations are for a screening every 5 to 10 years beginning
at the age of 50. If there is a strong family history, then screening should begin at age 40, or at an age ten years younger than that at which your relative
was diagnosed with colon cancer.
Procedure:
Unlike traditional colonoscopy, virtual colonoscopy does not require anesthesia, intravenous line, the need to fill your colon with liquid, a 5-foot colon
scope or any hospitalization or recovery. It does require a gentle bowel preparation along with pre-prepared meal plan, both of which are provided at
San Luis Diagnostic Center. The exam requires you to lie on the scanning table for about 10 minutes. Using a CT scanner, information is collected, and
transferred to a 3D workstation for a virtual reality "fly through" of your colon. This 3-dimensional analysis is performed by a Board Certified
radiologist.
Results:
After the data has been transferred to the powerful 3D workstation, a physician views the inside of your colon from every angle. Our Board Certified
radiologist interprets the test and provides a report with recommendations to you, and if you request, your personal physician.
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