BOLUS CHASING - A NEW TECHNIQUE IN PERIPHERAL ARTERIOGRAPHY

Recent advances in digital angiographic equipment design have enabled a new technique of peripheral arteriography involving digital bolus ch asing to be developed. This technique permits real-time visualization of the contrast bolus so that it can be followed peripherally with dig ital images being acquired at a suitable frame rate. We give the first description of this technique using the Philips Integris C2000 and co mpared it to conventional stepped arteriography. Sixty-one patients un dergoing peripheral arteriography using the conventional stepped techn ique were compared with 55 patients using bolus chasing. The parameter s assessed were the procedure time the number of runs and screening ti me, per investigation, the consumables used, the patient and radiologi st radiation dose and the image quality. A reduction in the procedure time and the patient and radiologist radiation dose, and improvement i n image quality are demonstrated with the bolus chasing technique. Bol us chasing represents an important advance in peripheral arteriography .