Estimation of patient skin dose from fluoroscopy time and number of angiographic frames during embolization and cerebral angiograms

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to provide patient skin doses obtained using an on-line automated dosimetry system (ADS) during interventional neuroradiology procedures and to compare these doses with the fluoroscopy time and numbers of digital angiography frames. Patient skin exposures for 160 cerebral angiograms and 94 embolizations were monitored using a PEMNET/sup TM/ ADS and skin doses estimated. These doses are used to determine the limits of accuracy of a method of dose estimation based on fluoroscopy time and number of frames. Tables are given showing the average exposure rates from fluoroscopy in R/minute for ADS data for cerebral angiograms and embolizations. Average exposure rates are derived in 2 ways. Average exposure, fluoroscopy time and exposure rate, along with standard deviation and coefficient of variation, derived by taking the values from each case are shown in tables. Mean exposures, fluoroscopy time and exposure rates derived from summations of all cases are shown in the 'sum of variable' line of tables. Other tables show the average R/min derived from the best-fit straight line of the plot of exposure vs. fluoroscopy time, along with the R/sup 2/ variation.