Fluoroscopy
Fluoroscopy (Axiom Iconos R100)
Fluoroscopy are special applications of X-ray imaging, in which a fluorescent screen or image intensifier tube is connected to a closed-circuit television system.
The German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen discovered x-rays in 1895, when fortunate coincidences set the stage for his discovery. Roentgen also noticed that various objects he placed between the tube and the fluorescent screen affected the bright ness, meaning the ray penetrated some objects more easily than others. His own hand surprisingly showed as a skeletal outline. In 1901, he received the first Nobel Prize for physics for his contribution to science in discovering x-rays. During a fluoroscopy procedure, an x-ray beam is passed through the body. The image is transmitted to a monitor so that the body part and its motion can be seen in detail. The development of the X-ray image intensifier and the television camera in the 1950s revolutionized fluoroscopy. The red adaptation goggles became obsolete as image intensifiers allowed the light produced by the fluorescent screen to be amplified, allowing it to be seen even in a lighted room. The addition of the camera enabled viewing of the image on a monitor, allowing a radiologist to view the images in a separate room away from the risk of radiation exposure. More modern improvements in screen phosphors, image intensifiers and even flat panel detectors have allowed for increased image quality while minimizing the radiation dose to the patient. Modern fluoroscopes use CsI screens and produce noise-limited images, ensuring that the minimal radiation dose results while still obtaining images of acceptable quality.
Risks/Benefits:
Fluoroscopy is a type of x-ray procedure, and it carries the same types of risks as other x-ray procedures. The radiation dose the patient receives varies depending on the individual procedure.
The two major risks associated with fluoroscopy are radiation-induced injuries to the skin and underlying tissues (“burns”), and the small possibility of developing a radiation-induced cancer some time later in life. When an individual has a medical need, the benefit of fluoroscopy far exceeds the small cancer risk associated with the procedure. Even when fluoroscopy is medically necessary, it should use the lowest possible exposure for the shortest possible time.
AXIOM Iconos R100 offers you spectacular possibilities for fluoroscopy:
- Uncompromisingly good image quality with low radiation dose;
- Provides patient access from all sides - even from the back of the system. The extensive travel range of the spot film device, together with the longitudinal and transverse movement of the flat tabletop, provides a true head-to-toe examination area. There's no need to reposition the patient on the tabletop - a great advantage when examining immobile patients and those in pain;
- Offers an additional reduction in dose while still maintaining diagnostic accuracy with SUPERVISION * TV-pulsed fluoro up to 50%;
- AXIOM Iconos R100 has a removable grid with a simple push-button control - for especially low dose values during pediatric applications.
