Changing from image intensifier to flat detector technology for interventional cardiology procedures: a practical point of view

A small-scale internal audit has been used to evaluate the impact of the use of a dynamic flat panel detector in the clinical routine in the National Interventional Cardiology Centre in Luxembourg. The parameters tested during commissioning and constancy control of an X-ray system, the introduction of new clinical protocols, the patient and the personal staff dosimetry were considered. The technical parameters tested by the hospital physicist stay the same as for the image intensifier. No innovative protocols have been adopted due to the existence of the flat panel detector. A reduction in dose was noted after the installation of a flat detector, due mostly to the continuing education of the interventional cardiologists as well as the initial calibration of the radiological system. The understanding of the X-ray system and its possibilities is vital for the optimisation of clinical procedures in patient and staff exposure.