ASSESSMENT OF ORGAN RADIATION-DOSES AND ASSOCIATED RISK FOR DIGITAL BIFEMORAL ARTERIOGRAPHY

An assessment has been made of the absorbed dose associated with femor al arteriography using a digital imaging system. A bilateral femoral a rteriogram was performed on 17 patients, using a filmless 1024 matrix digital image acquisition system with a discrete stepping tube-stand a nd 40 cm image intensifier. A standardized protocol of manual patient/ tube-stand positioning under fluoroscopic control and automatic steppi ng digital acquisition was followed. Skin entry doses were measured wi th a dose-area product meter for each stage of the procedure, and the total gonad dose was assessed with thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) . Published Monte Carlo simulations were supplemented with further cal culations to evaluate organ doses from the dose-area products measured . Comparison with the TLD measurements indicated that this technique o verestimated organ doses by about 30%. A mean effective dose of 3.1+/- 1.8 mSv was calculated for the procedure, with the greatest dose burde n being imposed by fluoroscopy during catheter manipulation. The relat ed radiation detriment is 0.018%, which is insignificant when compared with the overall mortality from peripheral vascular disease.