Patient and operator exposure during percutaneous vertebroplasty

Area of Science:

• Interventional Radiology
• Medical Physics
• Radiation Safety

Background:

• Percutaneous vertebroplasty is a minimally invasive procedure.
• Radiation exposure is a concern for both patients and operators during fluoroscopic procedures.
• Combined computed tomography (CT) and fluoroscopic guidance is an alternative imaging approach.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare patient and operator radiation exposure during percutaneous vertebroplasty.
• To evaluate exposure under combined CT and fluoroscopic guidance versus fluoroscopic guidance alone.

Main Methods:

• Radiation exposure was measured in ten patients for each guidance technique.
• Measurements were conducted in collaboration with a physics department.
• Ten patients underwent vertebroplasty with combined CT/fluoroscopic guidance, and ten with fluoroscopic guidance alone.

Main Results:

• Mean operator dose was 0.8 microSv with combined guidance versus 5.8 microSv with fluoroscopic guidance alone.
• Mean patient dose was approximately 6 mSv for combined guidance and 8 mSv for fluoroscopic guidance.
• The difference in patient radiation dose was not statistically significant.

Conclusions:

• Combined CT and fluoroscopic guidance offers significant operator radiation protection.
• This technique should be considered for all vertebroplasty procedures, not just complex cases.
• Further studies with larger patient cohorts are needed to fully assess low-dose CT's impact on patient exposure.