Loading...
2 results
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
- Plain radiography has a role to play in current clinical practice in Western SwitzerlandPublication . Reis, Cláudia; Gulizia, Marianna; Champendal, Mélanie; De Labouchere, Stephanie; Sun, Zhonghua; Silva, CarinaAim: The aim of the study was to investigate the current role of conventional radiography examinations in Western Switzerland and the main clinical indications required to justify the use of this imaging examination. Methods: Ethical approval was obtained from the Vaud Ethics Committee (Ref 2020–00311). An online questionnaire was specifically designed and implemented on the data collection tool LimeSurvey composed of two parts: a) to characterise the participants’ profile and their institutions and b) 169 projections for the different anatomical areas (upper and lower limbs, pelvis, skull, spine, thorax, abdomen) were presented to collect data about the frequency and main clinical indications. Statistical analysis was performed using the software IBM SPSS® (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) version 26. Results: Radiographers from 60% (26/43) of the invited institutions participated in this survey, mainly from the Vaud region. The upper and lower limbs were the most commonly examined by using conventional radiography mainly for trauma and degenerative disorders. The thorax was also an anatomical area commonly explored by X-rays, and so was the spine (cervical and lumbar lateral). The skull radiographs were rarely performed in clinical practice and some of the projections were not being used, namely Hirtz, Tangential Nose Bones, Worms, and Caldwell's views. Conclusions: Plain radiography is being used in clinical practice mainly for appendicular skeleton studies and for trauma and degenerative pathologies. Adaptations in radiographers’ education and training and other healthcare professionals are needed to provide the judicious use of data that radiographs can give to better manage the patients’ imaging pathway.
- Optimisation of exposure parameters using a phantom for thoracic spine radiographs in antero-posterior and lateral viewsPublication . Reis, Cláudia; Caso, M.; Dolenc, L.; Howick, K.; Lemmen, R.; Meira, A.; Shatku, F.; Aymon, E.; Ghotra, S. S.Introduction: To investigate the exposure parameters for thoracic spine/(TS) radiography that allows the image acquisition at the lowest dose possible, while maintaining an adequate image quality/(IQ) to identify all relevant anatomical criteria. Methods: An experimental phantom study was conducted, and 48 different radiographs of TS (24 AP/24 lateral) were acquired. The Automatic Exposure Control/(AEC) with the central sensor was used to select the beam intensity, while Source-to-Detector-Distance/(SDD) (AP:115/125 cm; Lateral:115/150 cm), tube potential (AP:70/81/90 kVp; Lateral: 81/90/102 kVp), use of grid/no grid and focal spot (fine/broad) were manipulated. IQ was assessed by observers with ViewDEX. Effective Dose (ED) was estimated using PCXMC2.0 software. Descriptive statistics paired with the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were applied to analyze data. Results: The ED increased with a greater SDD for lateral view, presenting a significant difference (p = 0.038), however, IQ was not affected. For both AP and lateral, the use of a grid had a significant effect on ED (p < 0.001). Despite the images acquired without a grid had lower IQ scores, the observers considered the IQ adequate for clinical use. A 20% reduction in ED (0.042mSv–0.033 mSv) was observed when increasing the beam energy from 70 to 90 kVp for the AP grid in. The observers ICC ranged from moderate to good (0.5–0.75) in lateral and good to excellent (0.75–0.9) for AP views. Conclusions: The optimized parameters in this context were 115 cm SDD and 90 kVp with a grid for the best IQ and lowest ED. Further studies in clinical settings are necessary to enlarge the context and cover different body habitus and equipment.