Table1: Typical cost and radiation dose of commonly performed examinations.
| Diagnostic procedure |
Typical effective dose (mSv) |
Equivalent number of chest X-rays |
Approx equivalent period of natural background radiation |
Typical Cost |
| Radiography (Plain Film) |
| Limbs and joints (except hip) |
<0.01 |
<1 |
<2 days |
£ |
| Pelvis |
0.3 |
20 |
1.5 months |
£ |
| Ultrasound |
| Ultrasound joint |
0 |
0 |
0 |
£ |
| Computed Tomography (CT) |
| CT pelvis |
6 |
370 |
2.5 years |
£ £ |
| Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) |
| MRI limb |
0 |
0 |
0 |
£ £ £ |
| Radionuclide (Nuclear Medicine) |
| Bone (Tc-99m-HDP) |
3 |
200 |
1.3 years |
£ |
| PET-CT body (NaF or F-18 FDG) |
18 |
1200 |
8.1 years |
£ £ £ £ |
£ - <£35
££ - £35-45
£££ - £45-60££££ - >£60
Some variances: 1 vial of Lymphoseek® costs circa £1,175 (because this is a new patented radiopharmaceutical agent).
A new PET-CT machine with service contract in place will cost approximately £1.6 million.
A modern SPECT-CT gamma camera machine with diagnostic CT capability and service contract in place will cost approximately £ 0.5 million.