Measurements of occupational and patient exposure as well as image quality for two C-arms.

Two different C-arms, a Philips Veradius and a Ziehm Vision FD were evaluated with regard to occupational and patient radiation exposure as well as image quality. For this, the scatter radiation, the entrance surface dose rate (ESD rate) and the low contrast detectability (LCD) were evaluated with regard to different examination modes, using phantoms with different thicknesses as well as a Leeds Test Object. The results show a large range of variance between the two systems in relation to the topics investigated. Within comparable modes the Phillips Veradius causes a lower occupational and patient exposure than the Ziehm Vision FD. Furthermore, a lower radiation burden does not necessarily decrease the image quality, and a slight increase in LCD for particular settings is foiled by a big escalation in patient dose.