CT procedures performed at more than 7,350 sites in 2003 increased 10 percent to 50.1 million, compared with 45.4 million procedures in 2002, according to IMV Medical Information Division's recent census of CT sites in the U.S.  
   
The study, according to IMV, determines that CT is the workhorse modality of radiology. Procedures such as pelvic and abdominal, brain, head and neck, chest and spine studies remain the "bread-and-butter" of radiology, comprising 85 percent of CT procedures, IMV said. Specialty procedures, such as vascular and cardiac CT procedures, while only 5 percent of the total, grew 37 percent to 2.6 million procedures in 2003, IMV said.
   
"Multi-slice CTs are now the CT of choice," said Lorna Young, senior director, market research at IMV. "Along with their clinical breadth, multi-slice CT systems are also highly productive due to the scan acquisition speed of the technology. The average number of procedures performed per CT system in 2003 was 5,300 per year, and the typical site is open for scheduled procedures for 54 hours a week, which translates to about two scheduled patients per hour. Going forward, CT sites are replacing their CTs every 6 to 7 years, resulting in a healthy replacement market of at least 1,000 units per year."
   
IMV's 2004 CT Census Database is based on survey responses from over 5,500 CT sites in the United States.