Image Diagnostics has entered into a product development agreement with ECLS Inc., a company founded by James Goldstein, MD, to design a radiation shield expected to debut at RSNA 2018. The radiation shield, conceptualized by Goldstein, is expected to mark a new era for the safety of the interventional suite, addressing the adverse health effects of radiation exposure and the strain of long-term wear of protective lead during interventional surgery.
“Our system currently in development is designed with a radiation shielding apparatus to facilitate performance of fluoroscopic catheterization procedures with unprecedented radiation reduction,” said Goldstein. “Decreasing the risk of cancer and cataracts and eliminating the need of wearing protective lead that often causes orthopedic burdens, it will cause a paradigm shift in the occupational health of interventionalists.”
Small measures have been taken in recent years to safeguard interventional staff from radiation exposure, including enhanced training, frame rate reduction, techniques for positioning and various shielding systems. Despite these efforts, interventionalists are still exposed to radiation daily while wearing personal protective lead, which only partially protects them. This, according to many epidemiologic studies, leads to orthopedic injuries (especially the spine) the induction of cataracts and may be associated with greater risk for cancers.
The radiation shield will debut at RSNA 2018 at the Image Diagnostics booth from November 25-30, booth 8123 in the North Hall of McCormick Place, Chicago, Illinois.
For more information, visit www.imagediagnostics.com.
