A new angiographic imaging platform reduces radiation exposure for patients with liver cancer treated with transarterial chemoembolization

OBJECTIVES: To quantify the reduction of radiation liver cancer patients are exposed to during transarterial chemoembolization (TACE), while maintaining diagnostic image quality, using a new C-arm imaging platform. METHODS: In this prospective, HIPAA-compliant, IRB-approved, two-arm trial, 78 consecutive patients with primary or secondary liver cancer were treated with TACE on a C-arm imaging platform before and after an upgrade incorporating optimized acquisition parameters and advanced real-time image processing algorithms. Dose area product (DAP) and radiation time of each digital fluoroscopy (DF), digital subtraction angiography (DSA) and cone beam CT (CBCT) were recorded. DSA image quality was assessed by two blinded and independent readers on a four-rank scale. RESULTS: Both cohorts showed no significant differences with regard to patient characteristics and tumour burden. The new system resulted in a statistically significant reduction of cumulative DAP of 66 % compared to the old platform (median 132.9 vs. 395.8 Gy cm(2)). Individually, DAP of DF, DSA and CBCT decreased by 52 %, 79 % and 15 % (p < 0.01, p < 0.01, p = 0.51), respectively. No statistically significant differences in DSA image quality were found between the two imaging platforms. CONCLUSIONS: The new imaging platform significantly reduced radiation exposure for TACE procedures without increased radiation time or negative impact on DSA image quality. KEY POINTS: • The new C-arm system allowed reduction of radiation exposure by two thirds • The procedure’s course was not affected by the new platform • No decrease in DSA image quality was observed after the radiation reduction ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00330-015-3717-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.