Virtual colonoscopy: issues related to primary screening

Virtual colonoscopy (VC) is a minimally invasive CT examination that has continued to rapidly evolve and improve as a diagnostic screening tool. Current state-of-the-art VC technique has already been shown to be highly effective for screening at the University of Wisconsin. Although more widespread implementation of VC screening faces multiple challenges and barriers, these are all greatly overshadowed by the immediate need for increased patient compliance in effective colorectal screening programs. Given the wide availability of CT and the favorable safety profile compared with optical colonoscopy, VC holds significant potential for addressing a very important yet preventable public health concern. This paper will briefly address some of the major issues related to the general application of VC for colorectal screening, such as diagnostic performance, development of an acceptable screening algorithm, and several technique-related issues. (orig.)