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A U G U S T 2 0 1 4 | S U P P L E M E N T T O O U T P AT I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E O N L I N E
3. Reduced
radiation expo-
sure
We're also seeing man-
ufacturers make
impressive strides in
reducing the radiation
doses their machines
produce. Newer mod-
els are able to provide
good pictures with less
radiation. You want to
be able to assure
patients that their exposure levels will be "as low as reasonably achievable"
(ALARA). That's an increasing concern on the minds of outpatients and something
we've been incorporating into our imaging protocols for years.
Along with easy mobility and a small footprint, the radiation dosage mini
C-arms give off is so low, you typically don't have to line procedure room
walls with lead the way you do with larger C-arm units. The amount of radia-
tion produced by super (larger) C-arms is as minimal as that of mini C-arms
at the low end of the spectrum. Super C-arms also have a much higher range
and greater potential for radiation scatter. Still, settings that enable pulsed
images instead of continuous live imaging, the use of shutters to focus the
beam on the area of the body being imaged and proper positioning of the
unit's image intensifier can help to reduce the dose of radiation delivered.
We consider it our responsibility and are required by law to make every effort
to lower the dosage that our patients, providers, staff and especially our radio-
logic technicians, are exposed to. High-definition digital technology is promising
in that regard, too, with improved sensitivity to X-rays allowing for a further
reduction in radiation. That's something we can look forward to.
I N T R A O P I M A G I N G
VERSATILE SIZE Super C-arms can be used for spinal
injection procedures and for radiofrequency ablation.
Pamela
Bevelhymer,
RN,
BSN
When a C-arm goes down,
we go from 100% capacity to 0%.
Reliability is huge.
