Cathpax® AIR: a radiation protection cabin intended for interventional procedures
The last few years have seen considerable technical progress in the field of Interventional Cardiology with a significant increase in the number and complexity of procedures. These changes have resulted in greater exposure of doctors and patients to X-rays and therefore to the associated risks. In its last issue, the quarterly magazine of interventional cardiology “CATH’LAB” contains an article on the new Lemer Pax radiation protection cabin: the Cathpax® AIR. Extracts.
The Cathpax® AIR is the fruit of joint development between Lemer Pax and two interventional cardiologists, Professor Patrice Guerin from the Thorax Institute of the Nantes University teaching hospital in France and Professor David Keane from the Saint Vincent Hospital of Dublin in Ireland. This design by 3 teams, with their complementary know-how and each with its own speciality, was essential to reach a compromise between optimum radiation protection (from head to foot) and ergonomic design to respect the work space of the practitioner and all the paramedics present in the cath lab.
As pointed out by Dr Vincent Letocart and Dr Thibaut Manigold (Thorax Institute of the Nantes University teaching hospital), the Cathpax®AIR cabin is compatible with all the interventional cardiology procedures requiring an arterial or venal femoral access route and/or radial access route. The cabin provides optimum protection for the doctors who can work with complete peace of mind while using sufficient radiation sequences and having better image quality. Movements and habits are unchanged and work ergonomics are preserved. Lastly, the upper glazed part of the cabin can be opened, allowing easy access to the patient and the intervention equipment, while being ideally protected by closing this section during radiation sequences.
The first dosimetry studies demonstrated that the doses received by the practitioner behind the Cathpax® AIR radiation protection cabin are undetectable. In addition, the cabin provides optimum protection for the practitioner’s lower extremities, the left side, the head and the eyes, unlike the usual PPE. The various clinical validation projects set up with the Cathpax AIR® have demonstrated that the cabin is not solely compatible with the cardiology speciality but can also be used in interventional radiology, neuroradiology and electrophysiology.
Extract from the article published in the quarterly magazine of interventional cardiology “CATH’LAB” – No. 46, June 2019
Click here to access the electronic version of the article (in French)
Click here to access the PDF version of the article (in French)
France
