BACKGROUND Fluoroscopy has been an integral part of modern interventional pain management. Yet fluoroscopy can be associated with risks for the patients and clinicians unless it is managed with appropriate understanding, skill and vigilance. Therefore, this study was designed to determine the amount of radiation received by a primary operator and an assistant during interventional pain procedur...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty can be associated with significant radiation exposure to the operator. We compared the exposure levels to an operator performing vertebral fracture augmentation with vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty, to assess a cement injection and a monitoring technique designed to reduce this exposure. METHODS A neuroradiologist performed 189 consecutive ...

PURPOSE To assess radiation dose in common pediatric diagnostic fluoroscopy procedures and determine the efficacy of dose tracking and dose reduction training to reduce radiation use. METHODS Fluoroscopy time and radiation dose area product (DAP) were recorded for upper GIs (UGI), voiding cystourethrograms (VCUGs), and barium enemas (BEs) during a six-month period. The results were presented ...

OBJECTIVES To study the impact of contact force (CF) sensing on fluoroscopy, procedure, left atrial (LA) and ablation times and number of ablations during atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation. BACKGROUND Catheter ablation is an effective treatment for symptomatic AF. Recently a new ablation catheter providing real-time CF has been approved for use. METHODS A nested case-control study was perfo...

BACKGROUND Two studies, each consisting of large sample sets, were recently published on radiation exposure in percutaneous spinal cord stimulation (SCS) trialing procedures. A more rigorous use of statistical methods in the second study more accurately defined benchmark reference levels. Principally, one physician implanter-considered an advanced interventional pain physician-performed all suc...

Pediatric patients are at higher risk to the adverse effects from exposure to ionizing radiation than adults. The smaller sizes of the anatomy and the reduced X-ray attenuation of the tissues provide special challenges. The goal of this effort is to investigate strategies for pediatric fluoroscopy in order to minimize the radiation exposure to these individuals, while maintaining effective diag...

In the pediatric hematology-oncology population, lumbar punctures (LP's) are commonly performed to administer intrathecal chemotherapy and obtain CSF samples. Difficult LP's can arise due to obesity, fibrous tissue formation due to repeated LP procedures, or spinal abnormalities. For difficult LP's that require imaging-guidance, fluoroscopy is generally?? Fluoroscopy, however, subjects the pati...

BACKGROUND Use of trans-radial route for cardiac catheterization is on the rise but is associated with increased radiation exposure to the operator. Our aim was to compare the radiation exposure, by taking fluoroscopy time (FT) as a surrogate of radiation exposure, to the operator with femoral and radial routes. METHODS This prospective observational study was carried out at Army Cardiac Cent...

BACKGROUND Fluoroscopic guidance may be utilized in some bronchoscopic procedures, including ultrasound-guided bronchoscopy for investigation of peripheral pulmonary lesions. Some authors have suggested this procedure may be performed without fluoroscopy, to minimize risks due to radiation exposure. However, the radiation dose has never been quantified, so the risk remains unknown. OBJECTIVE ...

REAL-TIME, 3-DIMENSIONAL TRANSESOPHAGEAL ECHOCARDIOGRAPHY (RT 3D TEE) IS NOW USED ROUTINELY IN CONJUNCTION with x-ray fluoroscopy to guide percutaneous structural heart disease (SHD) interventions. Unlike fluoroscopy, RT 3D TEE provides excellent detail of 3D anatomy and soft tissue structures, and provides “live” intraprocedure guidance. A novel 3D echo-x-ray navigation system that successfully