The Efficacy of Shielding Systems for

Reducing Operator Exposure during

Neurointerventional Procedures: A
Real-World Prospective Study
T.R. Miller, J. Zhuo, G. Jindal, R. Shivashankar, N. Beaty
and D. Gandhi
This information is current as
of August 13, 2023. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol published online 22 December
2016
http://www.ajnr.org/content/early/2016/12/22/ajnr.A5038
 Published December 22, 2016 as 10.3174/ajnr.A5038

ORIGINAL RESEARCH
PATIENT SAFETY

The Efficacy of Shielding Systems for Reducing Operator

Exposure during Neurointerventional Procedures:
A Real-World Prospective Study
X T.R. Miller, X J. Zhuo, X G. Jindal, X R. Shivashankar, X N. Beaty, and X D. Gandhi

ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Neurointerventional surgery may expose patients and physician operators to substantial amounts of
ionizing radiation. Although strategies for reducing patient exposure have been explored in the medical literature, there has been relatively
little published in regards to decreasing operator exposure. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of shielding systems in
reducing physician exposure in a modern neurointerventional practice.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: Informed consent was obtained from operators for this Health Insurance Portability and Accountability
Act– compliant, institutional review board–approved study. Operator radiation exposure was prospectively measured during 60 consec-
utive neurointerventional procedures from October to November 2013 using a 3-part lead shielding system. Exposure was then evaluated
without lead shielding in a second 60-procedure block from April to May 2014. A radiation protection drape was randomly selected for use
in half of the cases in each block. Two-way analysis of covariance was performed to test the effect of shielding systems on operator
exposure while controlling for other covariates, including procedure dose-area product.

RESULTS: Mean operator procedure dose was 20.6 ␮Sv for the entire cohort and 17.7 ␮Sv when using some type of shielding. Operator
exposure significantly correlated with procedure dose-area product, but not with other covariates. After we adjusted for procedure
dose-area product, the use of lead shielding or a radiation protection drape significantly reduced operator exposure by 45% (F ⫽ 12.54, P ⬍
.0001) and 29% (F ⫽ 7.02, P ⫽ .009), respectively. The difference in protection afforded by these systems was not statistically significant (P ⫽
.46), and their adjunctive use did not provide additional protection.

CONCLUSIONS: Extensive lead shielding should be used as much as possible in neurointerventional surgery to reduce operator radiation
exposure to acceptable levels. A radiation protection drape is a reasonable alternative when standard lead shielding is unavailable or
impractical to use without neglecting strategies to minimize the dose.

ABBREVIATIONS: BMI ⫽ body mass index; PKA ⫽ air kerma area product

A dvances in endovascular technology have led to the increas-

ing use of minimally invasive, neurointerventional proce-
dures for the diagnosis and treatment of cerebrovascular disease.
ventions and the use of digital subtraction angiography and
biplane fluoroscopy.1-7 Patient exposure may be high enough
to result in deterministic effects such as skin erythema and
While the efficacy of these fluoroscopically guided examinations epilation, while both patients and physician operators are po-
is well-established, there is growing concern regarding the ex- tentially at risk from the stochastic effects of this radiation,
posure of patients and medical personnel to ionizing radiation. namely carcinogenesis.8-16
Prior reports have demonstrated that exposure of patients and Although multiple reports in the literature detail the risks of pa-
workers may not be negligible during interventional neurora- tient exposure to ionizing radiation during neurointerventional pro-
diology procedures, likely due to the complexity of some inter- cedures, little has been published regarding exposure of the treating
physician operators. Furthermore, the few reports available have ei-
ther included a relatively small number of cases performed by a few
Received September 1, 2016; accepted after revision October 12.
experienced neurointerventionalists or, alternatively, have focused
From the Departments of Diagnostic Radiology, Neuroradiology (T.R.M., J.Z., G.J.,
R.S., D.G.), and Neurosurgery (N.B.), University of Maryland Medical Center, on quantifying the degree of protection afforded by personal protec-
Baltimore, Maryland. tive equipment, such as lead glasses or caps.1-4,17,18 While the use of
Please address correspondence to Timothy R. Miller, MD, University of Maryland
Medical Center, Department of Radiology, 22 South Greene St, Baltimore, MD
such equipment remains an essential component of an overall strat-
21201; e-mail: [email protected] egy to protect medical personnel from scatter radiation, an equally
http://dx.doi.org/10.3174/ajnr.A5038 important approach is to reduce the amount of scatter radiation
AJNR Am J Neuroradiol ●:● ● 2017 www.ajnr.org 1

Copyright 2016 by American Society of Neuroradiology.

reaching the physician operator. The latter may be achieved by min- room to avoid unnecessary radiation exposure. This procedure was
imizing the use of ionizing radiation in neurointerventions as much used to standardize the relationship between measured operator ex-
as clinically feasible and by the adjunctive deployment of shielding posure and the PKA. The dosimeter remained on the primary oper-
systems in the angiosuite. Strategies for minimizing radiation use in ator’s left collar during all hand-injected DSA runs.
neurointerventional surgery have recently been described in detail by Standard radiation lead shielding was used in all cases, includ-
several groups and include the use of low-dose fluoroscope set- ing an overhanging lead acrylic shield positioned over the pa-
tings.19-22 However, the efficacy of shielding systems in neurointer- tient’s midabdomen (upper body shield), a lead apron skirt ex-
ventional surgery has largely remained unstudied. tending parallel to the fluoroscopy table on the side of the
We therefore elected to prospectively evaluate operator expo- operator (lower body shield), and an approximately 2 ⫻ 1 m
sure to scatter ionizing radiation in our neurointerventional prac- mobile barrier placed in front of the primary operator perpendic-
tice while using various shielding systems. ular to the angiography table. In addition, a disposable radiation-
absorbing surgical drape (RADPAD; Worldwide Innovations &
MATERIALS AND METHODS Technologies, Lenexa, Kansas), which has proved efficacious in
The institutional review board approved the research protocol for reducing physician exposure during interventional cardiology
this single-center, HIPAA-compliant study. Operator radiation ex- and vascular interventional radiology procedures, was randomly
posure was prospectively measured during 2 blocks of 60 consecutive selected to be used in half of cases.23-31 If selected for use, the
neuroangiography procedures performed in roughly 6-week peri- radiation protection drape was initially placed on the patient’s
ods from October to November 2013 and April to May 2014. right thigh below the femoral sheath insertion site and was subse-
Physician operators participating in the study included attend- quently transferred to the right lower abdomen once the catheter
ing neurointerventional radiologists (n ⫽ 3) and physician had been advanced into the thoracic aorta (Fig 1).
trainees specializing in the field (n ⫽ 2). All physician opera- In the second half of the study, radiation exposure was again mea-
tors wore standard personal protective equipment during the sured during 60 additional consecutive neuroangiography proce-
study, including a lead vest and skirt and a thyroid shield. dures performed in the same biplane angiosuite. However, in this
Written and verbal informed consent was obtained from phy- portion of the study, the electronic dosimeter was placed at the
sician operators. Patient consent was not obtained because collar level on an IV pole located on the opposite side of the
their clinical care and radiation dose were unaffected by the angiosuite table immediately across from the primary operator
research protocol. and standard lead shielding. This step was to simulate operator
During each 60-procedure block, operator exposure was mea- exposure when lead shielding is not used because it was
sured during all neuroangiography procedures performed on an Ar- thought unethical to remove lead shielding from the side of the
tis zee biplane fluoroscopy unit (Siemens, Erlangen, Germany), con- operator. Once again, a radiation protection drape was ran-
sisting of two 40 ⫻ 30 cm flat panel image detectors in the domly selected for use in half of cases, this time positioned over
anteroposterior and lateral planes. Along with operator radiation the left lower abdomen. The dosimeter remained in the angio-
dose, fluoroscopy time, air kerma area product (PKA), procedure suite throughout the procedure, including during power-in-
type (diagnostic versus intervention/treatment), and patient body jected DSA runs.
mass index (BMI) were recorded for all procedures. Operator skin Operator radiation exposure was then analyzed according to
dose was measured by a personal electronic dosimeter (DMC 300; the presence or absence of lead shielding and the radiation pro-
Mirion Technologies, Irvine California), which measures Hp(10), tection drape, yielding 4 groups (Table 1). One-way ANOVA was
with a measurement range of 15 keV to 7 MeV for x-rays and initially performed to test whether there were any group differ-
gamma rays, a dose range from 1 ␮Sv to 10 Sv, and an accuracy of ences in procedure PKA, fluoroscopy time, and patient BMI. The
at least ⫾20% (typical, ⫾10%). Body mass index was obtained Pearson correlation was used to analyze the simple relationship
from the patient’s medical record. The specific type of inter- between operator radiation exposure and procedure PKA, fluo-
vention was not recorded (eg, aneurysm coiling, mechanical roscopy time, and patient BMI. Two-way analysis of covariance
thrombectomy) because it was thought that other factors, in- was performed to test the effect of lead shielding and the radiation
cluding vessel tortuosity, plaque burden, and lesion morphol- protection drape on operator exposure, controlling for ⱖ1 of the
ogy, would also play a critical role in determining overall pro- other covariates (PKA, fluoroscopy time, patient BMI). Covari-
cedure complexity. Consequently, our study design accounted ates were selected on the basis of whether they were significant
for procedure complexity by taking into account the overall explanatory variables in the multiple linear regression model with
amount of ionizing radiation used during the procedure, as exposure dose as the response. A post hoc test with a Tukey cor-
reflected by the PKA. rection was then performed to test for group differences in expo-
During the first 60 consecutive procedures, the personal do- sure dose, while controlling for the covariates. All statistical anal-
simeter was attached to the left collar of the primary operator on ysis was performed by using the computing environment R
top of the individual’s lead vest and thyroid shield. If ⬎1 physician statistical and computing software (Version 3.2.0) (http://www.
participated in the procedure, the dosimeter was transferred be- r-project.org). P ⬍ .05 was considered statistically significant.
tween operators to ensure that it was always located on the primary
operator standing closest to the fluoroscope. The dosimeter was left RESULTS
in the angiosuite on the patient’s upper right thigh during all power- Data were successfully collected from all eligible neurointerven-
injected DSA runs while physician operators stood in the control tional examinations in 2 blocks of 60 consecutive procedures. In
2 Miller ● 2017 www.ajnr.org
 with therapeutic interventions, diagnostic
examinations were associated with shorter
fluoroscopy times (17.5 ⫾ 1.4 minutes
versus 83.3 ⫾ 51.0 minutes, P ⬍ .0001)
and lower PKA (132 ⫾ 88 Gy ⫻ cm2 ver-
sus 174 ⫾ 88 Gy ⫻ cm2, P ⫽ .014). The
mean patient body mass index was 28.2
(range, 15.2–50.1).
One-way ANOVA testing demon-
strated no statistically significant differ-
ences in the ratio of diagnostic-versus-
interventional procedures (F ⫽ 0.86,
P ⫽ .47), mean fluoroscopy time (F ⫽
0.433, P ⫽ .73), mean PKA (F ⫽ 0.53,
P ⫽ .67), or mean patient BMI
(ANOVA, F ⫽ 2.36, P ⫽ .08) among the
4 shielding groups. Two-way analysis of
the covariance showed that operator ra-
diation exposure was highly correlated
with procedure PKA, regardless of the
shielding systems used (r ⫽ 0.59, P ⬍
.0001). Although fluoroscopy time (r ⫽
0.29, P ⫽ .0013) and patient BMI (r ⫽
⫺0.17, P ⫽ .062) also correlated with
operator radiation exposure, these cova-
riates were no longer significant after
taking PKA into account. Consequently,
only PKA was included as a covariate in
FIG 1. Configuration of shielding systems and dosimeter in the angiosuite. A, Positions of the
mobile barrier (X), upper body shield (Y), and lower body shield (Z) are noted. B, Position of the final ANCOVA model for the effects
the radiation protection drape (white arrows) before sheath insertion and advancement of the of shielding systems on operator expo-
diagnostic/intermediate catheter into the thoracic aorta. C, Position of the radiation protection sure dose.
drape (white arrows) during the remainder of the procedure. D, Position of the dosimeter (white
X) in the second block of 60 patients, attached to an IV pole. The radiation protection drape is ANCOVA revealed that the use of
positioned over the left side of the patient. lead shielding (F ⫽ 12.54, P ⬍ .0001)
and the radiation protection drape (F ⫽
Table 1: Shielding system groups
7.02, P ⫽ .009) significantly reduced operator exposure after ad-
Radiation Standard Lead
Group Protection Drape Shielding Systems justing for procedure PKA (Table 3). Post hoc tests comparing the
R0L0 ⫺ ⫺ adjusted operator exposure dose for the 4 shielding groups indi-
R1L0 ⫹ ⫺ cated that standard lead shielding (R0L1) reduced operator expo-
R0L1 ⫺ ⫹ sure to scatter radiation by nearly half (45%) compared with no
R1L1 ⫹ ⫹ shielding (R0L0) (P ⬍ .001). Use of the RADPAD drape (R1L0)
Note:—R0L1 indicates standard lead shielding; R0L0, no shielding; R1L0, use of the
was also associated with a significant but smaller reduction in
RADPAD drape; R1L1, concomitant use of the 2 shielding systems together; ⫹, present; ⫺,
absent. operator exposure (29%) (P ⫽ .026). Finally, the concomitant use
of the 2 shielding systems together (R1L1) failed to further reduce
total, 71 diagnostic and 49 interventional neuroangiography pro- operator exposure to scatter radiation. The R1L1 group demon-
cedures were included. During the initial investigation of opera- strated a 44% reduction in operator exposure compared with no
tor radiation exposure data, 1 diagnostic procedure was excluded shielding (R0L0), essentially identical to standard lead shielding
from further analysis due to a reported high operator exposure alone (R1L1 versus R0L1, P ⫽ .99).
dose, which was out of proportion to the procedure PKA. This
outlier may have occurred due to either improper dosimeter po- DISCUSSION
sitioning or erroneous data entry. Consequently, data from 70 Our results demonstrate that the consistent use of standard lead
diagnostic and 49 therapeutic neurointerventional angiography shielding can reduce the exposure of neurointerventionalists to
procedures were included for further analysis (Table 2). scatter radiation by as much as 45%. More surprising is the 29%
Mean operator radiation dose per procedure in the entire cohort reduction in exposure afforded by the radiation protection drape.
was 20.6 ⫾ 1.6 ␮Sv and 17.7 ⫾ 1.4 ␮Sv for the 89 procedures in which Although the drape had previously been shown to be effective in
exposure was measured by using some type of shielding system. The interventional cardiology and vascular interventional radiology
mean fluoroscopy time and PKA for the entire cohort were 44.6 ⫾ procedures, physicians in these specialties often stand much
47.3 minutes and 149.3 ⫾ 90.1 Gy ⫻ cm2, respectively. Compared closer to the irradiated portion of the patient’s body, for example,
AJNR Am J Neuroradiol ●:● ● 2017 www.ajnr.org 3
Table 2: Baseline group characteristics Operator exposure was highly corre-
Shielding Mean Mean PKA Mean lated with PKA. As discussed in the “Ma-
Group FT (min) (Gy × cm2) Patient BMI Intervention/Diagnostic terials and Methods” section, procedure
R0L0 41.63 148.43 25.9 12/18 PKA is a reasonable measure of overall
R1L0 37.38 138.64 29.74 9/21 procedure complexity, potentially ac-
R0L1 54.08 164.11 29.48 14/16
R1L1 45.17 145.74 27.35 14/15 counting for a diverse array of difficult-to-
anticipate variables, including interven-
Note:—FT indicates fluoroscopy time; R0L1, standard lead shielding; R0L0, no shielding; R1L0, use of the RADPAD drape;
R1L1, concomitant use of the 2 shielding systems together. tion type, experience of the operators,
vessel tortuosity, and vessel plaque bur-
Table 3: Operator dose and adjusted dose reduction relative to
R0L0 den. After we accounted for this correlation, neither procedure type
Mean Dose Relative nor patient BMI significantly impacted operator dose. Before the
Shielding Operator Standard to R0L0: current study, we had speculated that patient BMI might impact op-
Group Dose (␮Sv) Error Adjusted for PKA Significance erator exposure secondary to increased scatter radiation production
R0L0 29.1 0.212 NA NA while imaging over the superiormost aspect of the thorax and lower
R1L0 19.5 0.211 0.78 P ⬍ .001 neck. The latter occurs during catheterization of cervical vessels and
R0L1 17.7 0.211 0.55 P ⫽ .026
can represent a significant percentage of procedure time in diagnostic
R1L1 15.9 0.213 0.56 P ⬍ .001
cerebral angiograms, particularly with tortuous vessel anatomy.
Note:—NA indicates not applicable; R0L1, standard lead shielding; R0L0, no shielding;
R1L0, use of the RADPAD drape; R1L1, concomitant use of the 2 shielding systems together. However, any increase in scatter radiation generated by larger
size patients was too small to be detected.
next to the thorax during cardiac pacemaker/defibrillator place-
Operator exposure was modest in the current study: 20.6 ␮Sv per
ment. In these instances, the drape is placed directly adjacent to
the irradiated body part, where it is in an optimal position to procedure for the entire cohort and 17.7 ␮Sv when using some types
shield the operator from scatter radiation. In contradistinction, of shielding. Given these results, it is highly unlikely that an operator
neurointerventionalists using femoral artery access typically in our practice would exceed the annual occupational limit of 20
stand much farther away from the x-ray target (ie, head and neck), mSv. Although comparison with prior studies can be challenging due
and it was uncertain whether placing the drape over the patient’s to differences in methodology, other authors have typically noted
lower abdomen would still be effective. However, despite the higher operator doses during neurointerventional procedures. For
5
greater distance between operator and x-ray source, the drape still example, Moritake et al reported an average entrance dose at the
significantly reduced operator exposure. operator’s left collar of 50 ␮ Gy/ ␮ Sv (n ⫽ 32), Kemerink et al2 found
The current study failed to show a further reduction in operator an average entry dose at the operator’s neck of 74 ␮Gy/␮Sv (n ⫽ 31),
dose when augmenting lead shielding with the radiation protection and Bor et al18 noted a mean entry dose of 28.8 ␮Gy/␮Sv in the
drape. However, we still use the inexpensive, easy-to-use drape in our region of the thyroid (n ⫽ 57). We believe that the meticulous
practice because we believe it may provide additional radiation pro- use of shielding systems in most of our cases contributed to the
tection in certain situations. These include procedures requir- relatively low operator exposure, though other factors, includ-
ing greater radiation exposure of the pelvis (eg, difficult fem- ing fluoroscope settings, likely played a role.
oral artery access, femoral artery injury), spinal angiography, The current study has several limitations, which reflect some of
and studies using brachial or radial artery access. Although not the practical challenges of measuring operator radiation exposure
evaluated in the current study, the drape may be more effective during everyday clinical practice. First, our measured operator dose
in these instances due to a combination of increased proximity likely overestimates true physician exposure during clinical practice
of the operator to the irradiated body part and an inability to secondary to leaving the dosimeter in the angiosuite during power-
optimally position all lead shielding components. For example, injected DSA runs. However, this practice allowed us to standardize
the overhanging lead shield is impractical to use during femo- the relationship between measured operator exposure and proce-
ral sheath insertion, while the stand-alone lead shield is simi- dure PKA. In addition, estimated operator exposure in the second
larly unworkable when using a brachial artery approach. half of the study may have been slightly greater than in the first half
Furthermore, although we consistently use extensive lead due to the dosimeter being located on the side of the lateral fluoro-
shielding in our practice, this is likely not the case for all neuroin- scope x-ray source. This feature, in turn, may have led to a mild
terventionalists. Overhanging and stand-alone lead shielding can overestimation of the efficacy of lead shielding. However, the differ-
be cumbersome to use, particularly during complex interventions ence was thought likely to be small because the lateral tube is almost
such as aneurysm coiling, which often require oblique positioning exclusively used when imaging over the head and upper neck, where
of the fluoroscopy tubes. In these instances, the working space the greater distance of the operator/dosimeter from the irradiated
available for lead shields is often reduced, making them difficult body part would likely minimize any such variation. Finally, small
or impractical to use. Moreover, some practices may be limited in variations in positioning of the dosimeter during the first half of the
their use of lead shielding, either because it is not readily available study, when operators wore the dosimeter, may have also affected
or due to physical constraints within the angiography suite. In our results. However, it was not practical to attach the dosimeter to a
situations in which lead shielding is not ideal, either due to oper- fixed position such as an IV pole on the right side of the angiosuite
ator preference or limitations of a particular practice, a radiation table because it would have interfered with the work of physician
protection drape may be a reasonable alternative for scatter radia- operators. Despite these issues, our results help to quantify the degree
tion protection. of protection afforded by shielding systems in neurointerventional
4 Miller ● 2017 www.ajnr.org
surgery and have demonstrated that such systems may help limit 13. Vano E, Fernandez JM, Sanchez RM, et al. Patient radiation dose
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Maryland, Comments: Medtronic industry grant for already published research per- 17. Chohan MO, Sandoval D, Buchan A, et al. Cranial radiation expo-
taining to comparison of the classic-versus-second-generation Flex Pipeline Embo- sure during cerebral catheter angiography. J Neurointerv Surg 2014;
lization Device paid to University of Maryland Medical Center Radiology Depart-
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ment; Stryker industry grant for the Trevo Retriever Registry Post Market Surveillance
18. Bor D, Cekirge S, Türkay T, et al. Patient and staff doses in interven-
paid to the University of Maryland Medical Center Radiology Department; Medtronic
industry grant for Apollo, Onyx, Delivery Micro Catheter Post Market Safety Study paid tional neuroradiology. Radiat Prot Dosimetry 2005;117:62– 68 Medline
to the University of Maryland Medical Center Radiology Department; Pending: 19. Kahn EN, Gemmete JJ, Chaudhary N, et al. Radiation dose reduction
MicroVention industry grant for the Pivotal Study of the FRED Stent System in the during neurointerventional procedures by modification of default
Treatment of Intracranial Aneurysms paid to the University of Maryland Medical Center settings on biplane angiography equipment. J Neurointerv Surg
Radiology Department.* Gaurav Jindal—UNRELATED: Grants/Grants Pending: 2016;8:819 –23 CrossRef Medline
Stryker, MicroVention, Codman, Medtronic, Comments: research grants*; Payment for 20. Schneider T, Wyse E, Pearl MS. Analysis of radiation doses incurred
Lectures including Service on Speakers Bureaus: Internal Medicine Department at the
during diagnostic cerebral angiography after the implementation
Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. Dheeraj Gandhi—UNRELATED: Royal-
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