title: SYSTEM UPGRADE ON PHILIPS ALLURA FD20 ANGIOGRAPHY SYSTEMS: EFFECTS ON PATIENT SKIN DOSE AND STATIC IMAGE QUALITY.
abstract: Fluoroscopically guided procedures might be highly irradiating for patients, possibly leading to skin injuries. In such a context, every effort should be done to lower patient exposure as much as possible. Moreover, patient dose reduction does not only benefit to the patient but also allows reducing staff exposure. In this framework, Philips Healthcare recently introduced a system upgrade for their angiography units, called 'AlluraClarity'. The authors performed air kerma rate measurements for all available fluoroscopy modes and air kerma per frame measurements for the digital subtraction angiography protocols, along with subjective spatial resolution and low-contrast detectability assessments using a standard QA phantom. Air kerma reductions ranging from 25.5 to 84.4 % were found, with no significant change in image quality when switching from a standard operating mode to an upgraded version. These results are confirmed by the comparison of actual patient exposures for similar procedures.
authors.affiliation: Lausanne University Hospital, Institute of radiation physics, Rue du Grand-Pré 1, CH-1007 Lausanne, Switzerland nick.ryckx@chuv.ch.
authors.forename: Nick
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ryckx
authors.affiliation: Lausanne University Hospital, Institute of radiation physics, Rue du Grand-Pré 1, CH-1007 Lausanne, Switzerland Geneva University Hospital, Geneva, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sans-Merce
authors.affiliation: Radiodiagnostic and Interventional Radiology Service, Lausanne University Hospital, Rue du Bugnon 21, CH-1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Reto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Meuli
authors.affiliation: Radiodiagnostic and Interventional Radiology Service, Lausanne University Hospital, Rue du Bugnon 21, CH-1011 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Jean-Baptiste
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Zerlauth
authors.affiliation: Lausanne University Hospital, Institute of radiation physics, Rue du Grand-Pré 1, CH-1007 Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Francis R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Verdun
mesh_terms: D000072226:Computed Tomography Angiography / Q000295:instrumentation*; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D006801:Humans; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D000069079:Radiation Exposure / Q000032:analysis* / Q000517:prevention & control; D011835:Radiation Protection / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012867:Skin / Q000528:radiation effects*