KYRA PHILLIPS, ANCHOR: Well, no one looks forward to having a colonoscopy. But soon there may be no good excuses for avoiding this life-saving procedure. CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen reports on a non- invasive alternative that might work just as well.</s>ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): How would you like to see your colon in 3D? Well, you might not want to, but your doctor probably does. A study done at three military hospitals shows that this new virtual colonoscopy, using a CT scan catches polyps even when they're small. In fact, it works as well as the kind people get today to detect polyps that could turn into colon cancer and the new kind is less, shall we say, invasive. You still have to have a tube inserted but not nearly as far. Other benefits of this 3D virtual colonoscopy? No sedation is needed. There's virtually no risk of perforating the colon. And it takes about ten minutes instead of about an hour. The down side? Money. It costs about $1,000, and right now, insurance won't pay for it. Also, not many doctors are trained in how to do these 3D scans. And the new one, while it worked well in this study of 1,200 patients, doesn't have the same track record as the old kind, which has been used on millions of patients. So you may well have to wait to get a movie made of your colon. In the meantime, get the regular kind of colonoscopy at age 50 or even earlier, if you have a family history of certain colon diseases. Only about one-third of people who are supposed to get a colonoscopies actually get them. Doctors hope this new technology, once it's widely available, will change that. Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.
Alternative Developed for Colon Screening