Assessment of RAdiopaque Patient IDentification Stickers (RAPIDS) for patient-scan correlation in a mass casualty...

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Radiology
• Emergency Medicine

Background:

• Accurate patient identification is critical in mass casualty incidents (MCI) to prevent medical errors.
• Current identification methods may be insufficient in chaotic MCI environments.
• Diagnostic imaging plays a vital role in patient assessment and management during MCIs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the legibility of radiopaque patient identification stickers.
• To assess the impact of these stickers on diagnostic image quality.
• To determine the suitability of these stickers for use in mass casualty incidents.

Main Methods:

• Four radiopaque sticker prototypes with identification numbers were developed.
• Stickers were applied to phantom models (head and thorax).
• Phantoms were scanned using standard CT and radiograph protocols; images were assessed by radiologists and emergency physicians.

Main Results:

• All sticker prototypes were legible on CT (topogram and reconstructed images) and radiographs when placed on the forehead, shoulder, and sternum.
• Legibility was unreliable on the temple area in topogram images.
• Significant image degradation occurred on radiographs with sternum placement; forehead was the preferred anatomical location.

Conclusions:

• Radiopaque patient identification stickers can enhance patient-image correlation in MCI settings.
• The tested prototypes demonstrated good legibility with acceptable image quality.
• The forehead is recommended as the optimal placement site, and these stickers should be considered for MCI preparedness.