Toward computer-assisted image-guided congenital heart defect repair: an initial phantom analysis.

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Cardiovascular Interventions
• Radiation Safety

Background:

• Radiation exposure during cardiac catheterizations poses risks to patients and staff.
• Fluoroscopic imaging is essential but contributes to significant radiation doses.
• Minimizing radiation is crucial in interventional cardiology procedures.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a novel image-guided surgery system for dose reduction in cardiac catheterizations.
• To assess the efficacy of an image guidance system in minimizing radiation exposure.
• To compare radiation doses between image-guided and traditional fluoroscopy methods.

Main Methods:

• Development of an image-guided surgery system with electromagnetically tracked tools.
• Utilizing a 7-Fr catheter with magnetic seeds for guidance.
• Validation using a 3D-printed cardiac phantom in mock procedures.

Main Results:

• The image-guided method resulted in a radiation dose of 1.26 mSv per procedure.
• Traditional fluoroscopy guidance resulted in a dose of 3.33 mSv per procedure.
• An average dose saving of 2.07 mSv (62%) was achieved with the image-guided method.

Conclusions:

• The image guidance method significantly decreases radiation dose in cardiac catheterizations.
• A modest increase in procedure time was observed with the image guidance approach.
• This study provides a foundation for image guidance applications in pediatric cardiology.