Impact of Allura Clarity Technology on Radiation Dose Exposure During Left Atrial Appendage Closure

BACKGROUND: To evaluate the impact of the Clarity IQ technology on reducing radiation risk in patients undergoing cardiac interventional radiology (IR) procedures. MATERIAL/METHODS: Phantom studies were performed with two angiographic systems, FD10 Allura Xper and FD10 Allura Clarity. In the study, we performed left atrial appendage closure. Dosimetric measurements were performed with thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLD) placed inside a CIRS anthropomorphic phantom. Radiation risk was estimated based on the TLD readings and expressed as the dose absorbed by particular organs. The Mann–Whitney U test was carried out to test for significance of differences in the absorbed radiation doses between the techniques. RESULTS: During left atrial appendage closure, the estimated dose absorbed by particular organs was lower in the case of the FD10 Allura Clarity system in comparison to the Allura Xper. In this procedure, dose reduction for particular organs ranged between 49–86%. CONCLUSIONS: Application of the FD10 Allura Clarity system resulted in a significant dose reduction, thereby leading to a significant decrease in radiation risk for patients undergoing IR procedures.