The effect of a new universal laser aiming device in C-arm fluoroscopy on the technician’s accuracy

OBJECTIVES: This study aims to introduce a new low-cost universal laser aiming device (LAD) that can be used in existing C-arm fluoroscopy devices, independent of brand and model, and to determine whether this new universal LAD improves technician accuracy in locating the desired region at the midpoint of the fluoroscopic image. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A low-priced universal LAD that is compatible with existing 12-inch C-arm fluoroscopy devices was designed. Eight radiology technicians with varied levels of experience in C-arm fluoroscopy participated in the study. A 12 mm cortical screw with a diameter of 3.5 mm was placed on proximal, diaphyseal, and distal points of femur, tibia, and humerus bones in the anteroposterior plane on L3 vertebrae and the left pubis arm in the pelvis bone model. Technicians were asked to align each screw in the image center 10 times from a distance of 30 cm in the anterolateral plane, first without the LAD and then with the LAD. The distance of the screw head to the center point was measured from the 3,520 images with the help of medical viewer software based on the X- and Y-axis. RESULTS: Each fluoroscopic image was divided into 48 equal parts and the length of a part was taken as one unit for distance measurements. The compliance between technicians without the LAD was 0.347 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.208-0.47, p=0.001) and with the LAD was 0.687 (95% CI: 0.621-0.741, p=0.001). The distance between the screw head and the center of the image without the LAD was 19.0±9.8 for technicians with more than 10 years of experience and 28.0±12.9 for those with less than 10 years of experience. This difference was statistically significant (p=0.001). When the LAD was used, the difference between the less experienced (3.1±1.5) and more experienced (3.3±2.0) technicians was statistically reduced, along with the distance (p=0.033). CONCLUSION: The use of the LAD with C-arm fluoroscopy appears to be successful in helping technicians capture the desired point in the center of the fluoroscopic image. The use of the LAD reduces the experience gap between technicians.