[Hand hygiene during mobile X-ray imaging in the emergency room].

A hand hygiene behavior questionnaire and environmental survey were conducted regarding the mobile X-ray system used in the emergency room. As a result, among a total of 22 radiological technologists at this hospital who replied to the questionnaire, 18 wore disposable gloves when performing X-ray imaging using the mobile system. Among those 18, 11 were found to touch computed radiology (CR) consoles and HIS/RIS terminals while still wearing the gloves, thus creating the potential for spreading pathogens to other medical equipment and systems. According to the results of an environmental survey of the emergency imaging preparation room, the highest levels of bacteria were detected on CR consoles and HIS/RIS terminals. A possible reason for this is that these locations are not wiped down and cleaned as a part of routine cleaning and disinfection protocols, thus demonstrating the importance of cleaning and disinfection. Hand hygiene by medical personnel and appropriate cleaning and disinfecting of the working environment are important for preventing the spread of nosocomial infections. Radiological technologists are also required to take effective measures against infections in consideration of the high frequency of contact with both infected patients and patients susceptible to infections.

[Development of a prevention of body movement fixation appliance in leg digital subtraction angiography].

In the peripheral angiography to evaluate blood flow below the knee levels in patients with arteriosclerosis obliterans, a motion artifact occurs as a result of body movements of a patient in normal fixation. This sometimes makes a correct evaluation difficult. Therefore, we developed a fixed appliance which can restrain body movement without affecting image quality and blood flow in digital subtraction angiography of a leg. The appliance is filled with the styrofoam of 1 mm diameter in a sealed bag, after air is aspirated from inside the bag. The appliance is stiffened to fit the shape of the crus. We measured signal to noise ratio / contrast to noise ratio / a resolution limit by visual evaluation to examine the influence of the image before and after usage of this appliance. In addition, the blood velocity of the dorsalis artery in ultrasound was measured to examine the effect on the blood flow. As a result, the fixed appliance did not affect blood flow in peripheral angiography to evaluate the clinical significance, the usual 5-point evaluate scale was used. The scale was significantly improved (p <0.01) after usage of this appliance. The newly developed fixed appliance for digital subtraction angiography of a leg is useful to avoid motion artifacts in clinical settings.

[Improvement of body diffusion image using addition technique].

It is difficult to obtain body diffusion weighted images (BDWI) using MRI that does not support parallel imaging and multi-NEX in clinical usage. Therefore, we evaluated whether a multiple image additions technique on the workstation could improve BDWI image quality and be good for clinical use by considering SNR and image distortion. We added 2 to 5 images on the same slice location with changing FOV, slice thickness, or reconstruction matrix in the phantom studies, and confirmed SNR improvement under all conditions. We also confirmed that this addition technique did not affect image distortion. We found that in 16 of the 18 clinical cases, BDWI with 5 images addition match pathology and T2 weighted images. We believe that this addition technique in available in the clinical practice.

[Exposed dose comparison between coronary computed tomographic angiography and coronary angiography: basic examination by phantom].

The new type of coronary angiography(CAG)that uses 40 mm volumetric computed tomography(VCT)has great potential for cardiac disease. However, it is still necessary to be cognizant of exposure dose. We measured doses of CAG by both VCT and cardiovascular X-ray using a body phantom within 170 glass dosimeters. VCT protocols were 120 kV, 570 mA, and 0.35 sec/rot with and without the dose-reduction features(small cardiac X-ray beam filter and ECG mA modulation). The cardiovascular X-ray protocol was Auto(65 - 77 kV)kV, Auto(41 - 46 mA)mA, 5 secx11 shots+11 min fluoroscopy(minimum protocol for screening). VCT with and without the dose-reduction features has the same dose distribution, however, the dose-reduction features reduced the amount of dose by about 40-50%. For VCT with those features, measured dose was about 70 mGy in the cardiac area and 60 mGy at the skin of the back, whereas those of cardiovascular X-ray were 10 mGy and 30 mGy. We measured detailed dose distributions and variations in the phantom, and we also demonstrated the possibility of VCT's dose-reduction features. The CT dose was still higher than that of cardiovascular X-ray, however, there were advantages of CT scanning, for instance, information about calcification, soft plaque, and 3D visualization. We think it is important to use both systems with an understanding of their advantages and limitations.