體重超標的人群，除了會產生一系列危及健康的危險之外，還會在他們接受影像學檢查時降低了正確診斷的機會。

一項最新研究的研究人員報道說：肥胖能夠降低影像掃描的準確性以及檢查的性能，包括核磁共振與計算機斷層掃描檢查的形態。在過去十年里，肥胖患者進行影像學檢查時候遇到的困難從0.10％～0.19％增加了一倍，而肥胖人數從9％～16％也增加了一倍。

研究人員將這個困難歸結于：超聲波檢查必須穿透身體組織以獲得精確影像，而對體重超標的人群就變得更加困難。因此研究人員指出：制造商應當改進設計以及研發新技術，以便在體重超標人群中獲得更好的影像檢查結果。

馬薩諸塞州總醫院(Boston, MA, USA)的研究人員在芝加哥舉行的北美放射學會2004年年會上報道了這項結果。
 
Obesity May Influence Imaging Diagnosis
 
Overweight individuals, in addition to being at risk for a host of health problems, may also be reducing their chances of being correctly diagnosed during imaging procedures.

Researchers, according to a new study, report that obesity can restrict the accuracy and ability of imaging scanning, including such modalities as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT). The number of difficulties with imaging obese individuals almost doubled from 0.10-0.19% in the past decade, which compares with the increase in overweight statistics that have nearly doubled from 9-16%.

The investigators attribute this problem to the fact that ultrasound waves must penetrate through the body tissue to generate an accurate image reading, and this becomes more difficult with heavier individuals. Therefore, the investigators stated that manufacturers need to think about design changes and technologic developments to obtain better imaging in larger patients.

The researchers, from Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston, MA, USA), presented their results at the 2004 annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), held in Chicago, IL, USA.