The cost of taking a lumbar CT is related to the level of the hospital and the precision of the CT instrument. In a tertiary care hospital, for example, if a 32-row CT is selected for a lumbar spine examination, the cost of a CT examination of 1 part of the lumbar spine is about$500. If a 64-row CT of the lumbar spine is used for the examination, the cost of the examination may be between 500 and 600 yuan. If CT plain scan plus bone 3D reconstruction is performed, the overall cost will increase by about$100. If an additional enhancement scan is added in addition to the plain CT scan of the lumbar spine, the cost will increase by another$200 or so. In general, tertiary hospitals charge significantly more than secondary hospitals or community hospitals.