Research summary, original research, 2010

Improving safety in the electrophysiology laboratory using a simple radiation dose reduction strategy: a study of 1007 radiofrequency ablation procedures

Rogers DP, England F, Lozhkin K, Lowe MD, Lambiase PD, Chow AW. Heart (British Cardiac Society). 2010

Read the original paper

In plain language

In 1007 ablations at one cardiac centre, removing the anti-scatter grid and using ultra-low pulse rate fluoroscopy roughly halved patient radiation dose without longer screening times. Staff dose was not measured, though lower patient dose generally lowers scatter.

At a glance

Type of study
Original research, Prospective cohort study
Who was studied
Patients, Phantom or simulation (no people)
Size
n = 1,007 procedures
Summary based on
the abstract

What it found

  • Dose area product fell significantly for simple ablations after removing the grid and using ultra-low pulsed fluoroscopy.

    Key figures: 20.4±26.9 Gycm(2) vs 8.0±10.3 Gycm(2), p<0.00001

  • Dose area product also fell significantly for complex ablations, with no change in screening times.

    Key figures: 63.3±50.1 Gycm(2) vs 32.8±31.7 Gycm(2), p<0.00001

  • Modelled lifetime fatal cancer risk to patients per million procedures dropped by about two-thirds.

    Key figures: 182 to 68 (simple); 440 to 155 (complex) per million procedures

Limits to keep in mind

Single-centre before-after comparison rather than randomised; outcomes are patient dose area product and modelled cancer risk, with no direct measurement of operator or staff dose.

How this summary was made

ORSIF prepared this summary with AI assistance from the abstract of the paper. A program then checked that the passage supporting each finding appears word for word in that source. A person has not yet reviewed each summary, so read the original before relying on a number. ORSIF summarizes research and does not endorse any product or company. Report a problem with this summary.

Prepared November 3, 2026.