Medical technology experts have developed a new CT scanning technique that provides long-time smokers and past smokers a more accurate way of detecting whether or not they have lung cancer.

The technology, devised by specialists at Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City, builds on the findings of a national study that compared CT scans and standard chest X-rays in detecting lung cancer. CT scans use X-rays to obtain a multiple-image scan of the chest, while a standard chest X-ray produces a single image.

Results from the study showed that patients who received CT scans had up to 20 percent lower risks of dying compared to those who received a standard X-ray.

"Taking results of a research study and applying them to the real world is extremely hard to do," said Denitza Blagev, M.D., a pulmonologist at Intermountain Medical Center, and one of the program leads. "But the Lung Cancer Screening Program at Intermountain Medical Center is a direct result of that effort, and because of the best practices that came from this research, we were able to diagnose three people with early stage lung cancer in the program's first 18 months."

In findings presented at the American Thoracic Society International Conference in Denver, Dr. Blagey reported great success in using the technique on 375 patients. The results showed 19 of the scans found evidence of malignant cancer, including three early-stage cases.

"Our goal is to save every life that we can. Our results are comparable to the National Lung Screening Trial, in which it was deemed a success if they prevented just one cancer death for every 320 patients screened,” she said. “The program we created from this study detected three early stage lung cancers in the 357 patients screened, which is incredible."