Cardiovascular Business - May/June 2008 - (Page 29)

› Slice and Price Plateau of SPECT/CT Could Drive Sales and Utilization Manufacturers continue to offer higher-end SPeCT/CT cameras with advanced CT technology that offer a higher number of slices. Accordingly, the average unit price for SPeCT/CT has increased from $599,000 in 2004 to $636,000 in 2008, according to Travis Chong, an analyst with Frost & Sullivan.* that corrects itself on SPECT/CT via attenuation correction. “However, we can get almost the same inforHowever, people have increasingly asked the following questions: mation with standard SPECT by ■ What is the optimal number of slices needed for SPeCT/CT? imaging patients in the prone and ■ What will be reimbursed? supine position,” Berman says. ■ What benefits do more slices present? Since is not clear to what degree that attenuation correction Several studies have begun to address this issue and an optimal numis truly more beneficial than stanber of slices is expected to emerge within six years, Chong says. dard SPECT and since there is no extra reimbursement for using As this specific number gains clinical acceptance, the CT within SPeCT/ attenuation correction, it cannot CT will assumably be capped. This cap, along with price erosion of CT be said with certainty that adding technology, will cause the average unit price for SPeCT/CT units to plaSPECT/CT to a business’s portfoteau at $650,000 in 2011 and maybe even experience some price erolio would make the case for betsion, falling to $641,000 by 2014. ter economic sense. For Berman, The lower average unit price could drive SPeCT/CT sales growth and, if you want the best in cardiac thus, clinical utilization, Chong concludes. imaging, facilities should look to PET/CT for cardiac disease detec*the average unit price reflects the price for the equipment only and not any renovation tion over SPECT/CT. and/or additional costs associated with SPeCt/Ct installation. it also reflects all SPeCt/Ct Despite the low cost of SPECT/CT cameras from single- to 16-slice, but does not reflect any specific brand. compared to PET/CT, the latter has a better ability to measure absolute myocardial blood flow at rest and stress and to image left ventricular According to Williams, the economic justification for SPECT/ function at peak of a pharmacological stress, rather than after. CT is really a “catch 22.” “No one will adopt widely until there “If you give a patient adenosine with PET, you can actually imis hard proof and without wide adoption, proof will be tough to age the patient during the stress test unlike the SPECT/CT, where obtain,” he says. “Business answers depend on cost, location, usyou image after the stress test.” Perhaps the most important advanage and reimbursement, and none of these are settled issues at tage is that PET has demonstrated very high resolution compared this time.” to SPECT—the higher resolution is more likely to lead to more acWhile the medical or clinical value of SPECT/CT, with its curate diagnoses potentially with better identification of patients attenuation correction and image acquisition tools, have been with multi-vessel coronary artery disease, Berman notes. proven and have enhanced the hybrid imaging modality’s di“If SPECT were to achieve its ultimate potential in resolution agnostic and prognostic capabilities within molecular imaging, and if new SPECT tracers image focused targets like thrombus the question as to whether the dual modality has true economic in the left atrial appendage or help determine if plaque is stable advantages in the narrow market of cardiac disease detection reor unstable, then the possibility of having a SPECT/CT scanner mains unanswered for many, due to current economic climates might become important for cardiac disease detection,” Berman and reimbursement issues. concludes. CardiovascularBusiness.com Cardiovascular Business 29 http://CardiovascularBusiness.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Cardiovascular Business - May/June 2008

Cardiovascular Business - May/June 2008 Contents First Word Cover Story - Coronary CTA: Drafting the Strategic Plan Financing New Technologies: Early Adopters, Lease vs. Purchase, and Joint Ventures Clinical Study Digest: ACE or ARB: It's Your Choice Can Off-Hour D2B Times Be Reduced Without Breaking the Bank? Digital Image Management Primer: Integrating Echo SPECT/CT for Cardiac Disease Detection: An Economic Conundrum Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise Connects IT Systems News & Views Calendar Reader's Resources The Back Page

Cardiovascular Business - May/June 2008

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