Fluoroscopy is an invaluable tool in interventional procedures as it provides real-time imaging using X-ray. But unlike most other X-ray technologies, the live video of fluoroscopy can guide lifesaving, minimally invasive procedures.
Fluoroscopy has proven to be so useful that it is relied upon heavily during endoscopic procedures. But that reliance has come with a cost – a cost of significant radiation exposure to the interventional endoscopist and their staff in the form of scatter radiation. The National Cancer Institute defines scatter radiation as radiation that spreads out when the beam interacts with a substance, such as a patient. The IAEA reports that scatter radiation is a major source of exposure to medical staff.
The risks of radiation exposure are well documented. Doctors and hospitals follow the best practices of ALARA, but there is more than the protection offered by time, distance, and shielding. There is also technology.
This is not to say that time, distance, and shielding are not important. On the contrary, Omega incorporates unique 360° lead shielding into its E-View.AI image-guided endoscopy systems. The shielding covers the flat panel image detector as well as provides lead protection below the table – where scatter radiation is most prevalent. The E-View.AI also uses a motorized variable source-to-image distance (SID) that lowers to the patient – further limiting scatter radiation.
In a 2015 study, the Center for Interventional Endoscopy (CIE) at AdventHealth Orlando compared the fixed E-View.AI system with its incorporated lead shielding to a mobile C-arm. The results indicated radiation exposure was significantly lower with the Omega system compared to a mobile C-arm.
But, beyond shielding, Omega protects everyone in the lab – patient included. As the only lab designed specifically for endoscopic GI procedures, the E-View.AI uses technology to reduce radiation exposure by up to ~84%.
In 2019, Omega took the idea of radiation safety to a new level with the introduction of FluoroShield™. This advanced AI-enabled technology creates a new modality in interventional imaging. Radiation reduction is achieved without changing existing workflow or sacrificing image quality. The technology is automatic and does not require manual inputs or direction from the physician or staff – delivering the benefit of consistent and repeatable radiation reduction beyond anything else in use today.
A 2020 study posted to the American Journal of Gastroenterology showed that the use of artificial intelligence technology significantly reduces radiation exposure to patients and scatter radiation to endoscopy personnel. Radiation scatter was ~59% less using the AI system compared to a conventional, non-AI, fluoroscopy system.
The fluoro systems designed and built by Omega provide the best technology for radiation safety. Omega is the only company in the world to offer this technology and has established technology as a new fundamental of radiation safety.
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