Criscitelli, EdD, RN, CNOR, assistant director of professional nursing
practice and education at Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola,
N.Y. "The ability to generate three-dimensional reconstructions has
revolutionized intraoperative imaging over the past few years," says
Ms. Criscitelli. "In order to obtain the complete three-dimensional vol-
ume, the C-arm has to move on an elliptical path with a variable
isocenter."
Digital vs. analog
Resolution, radiation safety and price might have been the key consid-
erations on the last C-arm you purchased, but nowadays you'll want
to look at image intensifier size and magnification, generator size and
portability. "Space in the operating room is at a premium. A C-arm
that is compact, yet transportable is ideal," says Ms. Criscitelli.
You want a C-arm that can expose any patient at every angle, a big
"C" in order to accommodate large patients. "This is important, as the
size of our patients varies and the type of procedures our pain man-
agement physicians do continues to change," says a hospital OR man-
ager.
Lynn Lillie, RN, BSN, CNOR, director of surgical services at Fort
Madison (Iowa) Community Hospital, recently added a new mobile C-
arm that features digital imaging for use in the OR and ER to her hos-
pital's 2 full-size C-arms. "We don't have to depend on radiology to use
it," she says.
Penetration power is a key feature to consider in a C-arm, says Mr.
Sharrock. "For the orthopedic or pain physician, it will come into play
while taking lateral abdomen or spine shots on large or obese
patients," he says. Without the proper power, the image will appear
too dark, and for invasive vascular surgery, the ability to do lateral
abdominal shots, angiograms and run offs is crucial, explains Mr.
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O U T PAT 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 | January 2015
