Winnebago’s Mobile Lung Unit Takes Early Lung Cancer Detection on the Road

When you see a Winnebago RV driving down the highway, you may be reminded of cross-country road trips and other adventures, but the iconic motorhome company is hoping their new Mobile Lung Unit will get former smokers thinking about lung cancer screening. Winnebago’s Mobile Lung Unit is the first all-electric vehicle of its kind with an onboard full-body, 32-slice CT scanner designed by Samsung.

“We are proud to help increase access to life-saving lung cancer screenings in the clean, quiet and emissions free environment of the first all-electric Mobile Lung Unit,” said Ashis Bhattacharya, Vice President, Strategic Planning and Development, and leader of Winnebago’s Specialty Vehicles Division. “As states provide incentives and broaden anti-idling laws, we expect the medical community to adopt the customizable all-electric community outreach vehicle for a variety of functions, such as lung cancer screening, asthma management and support, blood donation, dentistry or primary care.”

It’s estimated that about eight million people in the US are at a high risk of developing lung cancer, and should be screened for early detection, according to the American Lung Association. As part of the Ad Council’s “Saved By The Scan” campaign, the Mobile Lung Unit developed by Winnebago will have the ability to travel across the country to improve access to underutilized lung cancer screening for high risk individuals.

“Health systems are continuously looking for more efficient ways to deliver high-quality care to patients in the community, especially those patients beyond their immediate sphere of care,” said David Webster, Chief Operating Officer of NeuroLogica. “One way to do this is through the use of mobile medical units. With its self-sufficient battery power, the BodyTom Elite-equipped electric Winnebago is ideally suited for these mobile care environments, while doing so the ‘green’ way. We look forward to patients receiving emissions-free lung cancer screenings with the electric mobile lung unit.”

Samsung’s NeuroLogica BodyTom Elite CT scanner is both powerful and portable. Currently, the battery-powered device is used in hospital rooms which are not designed to be imaging suites. The electric Mobile Lung Unit can power the scanner plus other onboard services for eight hours and holds enough charge for up to a 125-mile return trip to and from its home facility.

The first stop for the Mobile Lung Unit Winnebago was at CALSTART’s Global Commercial Vehicle Drive to Zero Workshop earlier this week, with the vehicle being displayed at the Global Climate Action Summit until Friday. To determine whether they’re eligible for early lung cancer screening, individuals can go to SavedByTheScan.org to take an eligibility quiz.