What Is Fluoroscopy?
Fluoroscopy is a form of x-ray that can show the heart beating and the lungs operating. It works via a continuous x-ray ban that is transmitted to a monitor in order to show the actual movement of the organ or area being examined.
What Is It Used For?
Fluoroscopy is used in a variety of exams and procedures, particularly those involving the heart, like cardiac catheterization and with the assistance of placing catheters in the body. With cardiac catheterization, fluoroscopy allows the doctor to see the flow of blood through the coronary arteries in real-time. This allows him to locate clogged arteries and a number of other cardiac situations. For intravenous catheter insertion, fluoroscopy helps the physician guide the catheter into a specific location inside the body.
How Is It Done?
Fluoroscopy can be done in the hospital or in a regular doctor’s office. Most often, a fluoroscopy is taken in the following way (certain steps may be added or omitted depending on the facility and diagnosis.)
An intravenous line is inserted into a vein in the patient’s hand or arm.
The patient undresses and puts on a hospital or x-ray gown and then lies on the table.
Some procedures require a catheter. These procedures include cardiac catheterization or catheter placement. When this is the case, an additional line is inserted into another site, generally the groin.
A specific type of x-ray scanner will be used to produce the fluoroscopic images of the heart and surrounding organs.
In some cases, a dye or contrast substance is injected into the IV line. This helps the doctor see the heart, lungs, etc. better.
Depending on the procedure, there may or may not be anything else required and the patient can dress and go home. However, certain cardiac procedures, such as cardiac catheterization, will require a recovery period of several hours. Other procedures may require less or no time for recovery at all.
Are There Any Risks and Concerns Associated With Fluoroscopy?
Similar to any x-ray, fluoroscopy uses radiation in order to view the images. However, the radiation in fluoroscopy is generally higher than that of other imaging techniques and is not suitable for pregnant women or for children. The use of fluoroscopy has decreased in recent years for this reason and has mostly been replaced with echocardiography. But fluoroscopy is still used frequently with cardiac catherization, and the amount of radiation it produces is unlikely to cause any burning.
However, the introduction of flat-panel detectors in place of the traditional image intensifier has been shown to reduce the amount of radiation a person receives. In addition, they also improve the viewing quality on the monitor.
One concern associated with fluoroscopy is the fact that due to system lag that occurs between the x-ray and the monitor, there may be incidences of temporal blurring on the monitor, which can clearly have an adverse effect on the procedures.
Fluoroscopy is a fairly common procedure used today in hospitals and doctors’ offices. By allowing the doctor to view the patient’s heart, lungs, and other organs real-time via a monitor, fluoroscopy lets the doctor diagnose certain heart problems in addition to a variety of other problems, including clogged arteries and pathways that could lead to further damage to the heart. In addition, with cardiac catheritization, fluorscopy is essential in helping to guide the doctor in the placement of the catheter.