Multi-institution consensus paper for acquisition of portable chest radiographs through glass barriers.

BACKGROUND: To conserve personal protective equipment (PPE) and reduce exposure to potentially infected COVID-19 patients, several Californian facilities independently implemented a method of acquiring portable chest radiographs through glass barriers that was originally developed by the University of Washington. METHODS: This work quantifies the transmission of radiation through a glass barrier using six radiographic systems at five facilities. Patient entrance air kerma (EAK) and effective dose were estimated both with and without the glass barrier. Beam penetrability and resulting exposure index (EI) and deviation index (DI) were measured and used to adjust the tube current-time product (mAs) for glass barriers. Because of beam hardening, the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) was measured with image quality phantoms to ensure diagnostic integrity. Finally, scatter surveys were performed to assess staff radiation exposure both inside and outside the exam room. RESULTS: The glass barriers attenuated a mean of 61% of the normal X-ray beams. When the mAs was increased to match EI values, there was no discernible degradation of image quality as determined by the CNR. This was corroborated with subjective assessments of image quality by chest radiologists. The glass-hardened beams acted as a filter for low energy X-rays, and some facilities observed slight changes in patient effective doses. There was scattering from both the phantoms and the glass barriers within the room. CONCLUSIONS: Glass barriers require an approximate 2.5 times increase in beam intensity, with all other technique factors held constant. Further refinements are necessary for increased source-to-image distance and beam quality in order to adequately match EI values. This does not result in a significant increase in the radiation dose delivered to the patient. The use of lead aprons, mobile shields, and increased distance from scattering sources should be employed where practicable in order to keep staff radiation doses as low as reasonably achievable.

Evaluation of detector dynamic range in the x-ray exposure domain in mammography: a comparison between film-screen and flat panel detector systems.

Digital detectors in mammography have wide dynamic range in addition to the benefit of decoupled acquisition and display. How wide the dynamic range is and how it compares to film-screen systems in the clinical x-ray exposure domain are unclear. In this work, we compare the effective dynamic ranges of film-screen and flat panel mammography systems, along with the dynamic ranges of their component image receptors in the clinical x-ray exposure domain. An ACR mammography phantom was imaged using variable mAs (exposure) values for both systems. The dynamic range of the contrast-limited film-screen system was defined as that ratio of mAs (exposure) values for a 26 kVp Mo/Mo (HVL=0.34 mm Al) beam that yielded passing phantom scores. The same approach was done for the noise-limited digital system. Data from three independent observers delineated a useful phantom background optical density range of 1.27 to 2.63, which corresponded to a dynamic range of 2.3 +/- 0.53. The digital system had a dynamic range of 9.9 +/- 1.8, which was wider than the film-screen system (p<0.02). The dynamic range of the film-screen system was limited by the dynamic range of the film. The digital detector, on the other hand, had an estimated dynamic range of 42, which was wider than the dynamic range of the digital system in its entirety by a factor of 4. The generator/tube combination was the limiting factor in determining the digital system's dynamic range.

Acceleration of regenerate ossification during distraction osteogenesis with recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-7.

BACKGROUND: Bone-lengthening can be accomplished by means of distraction osteogenesis. In the present study, we examined the effect of a single dose of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-7 (rhBMP-7) on the rate of new-bone formation during distraction osteogenesis in the rat. METHODS: Fourteen Long-Evans rats were randomized into two groups of seven rats each. An external fixator was applied to the left femur, and a transverse osteotomy was performed. One group was treated with rhBMP-7 in an aqueous solvent, and the other group received the solvent alone and served as the control. rhBMP-7 was administered on the day of surgery by means of a single injection into the osteotomy gap. Distraction was started seven days after surgery at a rate of 0.25 mm every twelve hours. Distraction was continued for twenty days, resulting in a total of 10 mm of lengthening. The regenerate was monitored with use of radiographs and bone-mineral-density measurements at the conclusion of distraction and at two and four weeks after the cessation of distraction. The lengthened femora were harvested, and biomechanical studies were carried out to determine the stiffness and maximum torque to failure. RESULTS: Radiographs showed accelerated regenerate ossification in the BMP-7 group, with a larger amount of new bone compared with the control group. The bone-mineral-density values were dramatically enhanced on Day 20 in the BMP-7 group (103.6 +/- 12.6 mg/cm (2) ) compared with the control group (26.2 +/- 15.1 mg/cm (2) ). These differences continued to be greater at two and four weeks after the cessation of distraction. Normalized values of stiffness (percent stiffness) reached 76.5% +/- 5.4% in the BMP-7 group, compared with 6.6% +/- 0.5% in the control group. The percent maximum torque at failure was 81.1% +/- 1.2% in the BMP-7 group, compared with 20.8% +/- 0.3% in the control group. CONCLUSION: A single injection of rhBMP-7 at the time of osteotomy surgery stimulated the rate of regenerate ossification and increased bone-mineral density during distraction osteogenesis. The biomechanical properties of the newly formed bone were also increased by BMP-7 injection.