THE PROPER USE OF THE FLUOROSCOPE

JACK EDEIKEN M. D.

Thanks for reading the Veterinary View Box. I hope you have been enjoying so far. If there is one thing I love to do periodically, its jump back into the VRU archives and read some of the original Veterinary Radiology work. So for the next little while I will pull out an archival article and give it the VVB treatment on Thursdays. Be sure to let me know what you think but taking the “How did we do?” survey below.

The things I like best about these older articles are that there is frequently a little nugget of gold that you can bring into your radiology practice today. On top of that the language is just so fun to read (as long as you can get past the rampant sexism in many articles).

Up first is from the first issue of VRU, published in 1960.

1960 was a year of major events and changes in the world, especially in the US and Africa. The US entered the Vietnam War, faced the cold war with the Soviet Union, and elected John F. Kennedy as president. The Soviet Union shot down a US spy plane, and Fidel Castro nationalized US interests in Cuba. Seventeen African countries gained their independence from colonial powers, often through armed struggle. The civil rights movement, the generation gap, and the emergence of new technologies and culture also marked the decade. But it was also the dawn of Veterinary Radiology.

In the first ever article of VRU, Jack Edeiken, M. D. Assistant Professor of Radiology at Jefferson Medical College Hospital in Philadelphia gave a short review on using fluroscopy. He highlights 9 important points, many of which hold true today:

1. Equipment: The housing of the tube should be made so that only a very small amount of radiation leaves the tube except for the primary beam

2. Aluminum filter: An aluminum filter is placed in front of the primary beam to absorb most of the non-useful soft rays

3. Distance from the source of radiation: The dose of X-ray varies inversely as the square of the distance from the source of radiation

4. Shutters: The shutters control the size of the beam exposing the subject

5. Fluoroscopic Screen: Lead glass must be placed between the screen and the fluoroscopist

6. Synchronous movement: The tube and screen should move synchronously so that the beam of X-ray always plays on the screen

7. Shutter control: This is placed on the screen frame and the beam is kept at the smallest possible aperture to assure adequate visualization of the part of interest

8. Lead apron: A small lead apron should be placed on the bottom of the screen to shield the operator from some of the secondary rays

9. Control stand: The factors for kilovoltage and milliamperage are set on the control stand

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