Dose-Decreasing Effect of the First Reversed Laser Beam Collimator for C-Arm Type Angiographic Equipment

ABSTRACT

This is a study on the dose-decreasing effect of the first reversed laser beam collimator (RLBC) for C-arm type angiographic equipment. A laser beam was located at the center of each plane at an oblique angle to the angiographic equipment detector. A field of view, which could be seen with the naked eye, was made by focusing the laser beam in the direction of the X-ray source. The height of the table was fixed at 75 cm and the iron balls were located within 2 mm of the top, bottom, left, and right edges of the output image. The time needed for location fixing, fluoroscopy, and measurement of dose area product (DAP) were compared by having 30 radiologists perform location fixing by looking at the fluoroscopic image while performing location fixing (no radiation) and while the RLBC was turned on. In the next test, the time needed for location fixing, fluoroscopy, and DAP were compared when varying the location of the iron balls from 2 to 10 mm from the edges of the output image. The results showed that the time needed for location fixing, the time needed for fluoroscopy, and DAP decreased, both in the first test and the second test. This study confirmed that the use of a RLBC for C-arm type angiographic equipment decreases both the time needed to perform the procedure and the radiation dose received. It is expected that continuous advancement of RLBC technology will contribute greatly to decreasing the dose of radiation needed and improving convenience during angiography.