2025 Fluoroscopy Patient/Provider Safety and Surgical Technique Pearls

Course Title: Fluoroscopy Patient/Provider Safety and Surgical Technique Pearls Course Description This fluoroscopy course provides the necessary continuing education credit hours for your California Supervisor and Operator Protection and Safety license. It provides important information regarding protocols to minimize patient and provider exposure to radiation, documentation requirements for hospitals and surgical centers and fluoroscopy principles and uses. CE Credits:  4.0 Target Audience:  DPMs Faculty:  Marlena Jbara, MD Learning Objectives by Presentation Lesson 1:  Radiation Safety

1. Understand radiation biology, dose of radiation and reducing the radiation dose
2. Appreciate deterministic and stochastic radiation effects
3. Recognize the risk and benefits of medical imaging
4. Understand the ALARA principle
5. Analyze the precautions for children and pregnant women

Lesson 2:  Optimizing Fluoroscopic Technique

1. Appreciate the variety of views that can be taken
2. Understand the importance of proper positioning to reduce radiation dose
3. Understand the x-ray views
4. Appreciate the optimal way to move the patient and the C-arm

Lesson 3:  Primary Beam Alignment  Appreciate methods of optimizing the equipment to reduce exposure

1. Appreciate how to minimize fluoroscopy time
2. Understand distance and the inverse square law
3. Understand the benefits of shielding
4. Review the importance of dosimetry badges and quality

Lesson 4:  Arthrography and Tenography

1. Recognize the indications for arthrography
2. Appreciate the risks of arthrography
3. Understand arthrography technique
4. Differentiate between fluoroscopy and ultrasound for optimal imaging access
5. Understand the different diagnostic evaluation methods when performing arthrography
6. Appreciate tarsal metatarsal and lesser digital arthrography
7. Appreciate the benefit of tenography

Lesson 5:  Surgical Theater Positioning

1. Review the advantages of MIS
2. Recognize the operating room set up for MIS
3. Understand patient positioning to optimize MIS results
4. Review forefoot MIS procedures
5. Review MIS calcaneal osteotomies

Lesson 6:  Fluoroscopic Guided Arthrodesis Procedures and Techniques

1.  Understand fluoroscopic considerations to reduce radiation and optimize image quality
2. Differentiate between open and closed techniques
3. Review fluoroscopic techniques of various fusions of the foot

Commercial Support No commercial interest provided financial support for this continuing education activity. Faculty and planning committee disclosures are available from event coordinator upon request. Non-Discrimination Policy All continuing education activities follow the WesternU Non-Discrimination, Anti-Harassment and Non-Retaliation policy. Any person on the planning committee, instructors, staff, registrants, and attendees are agents of WesternU, thus the policy applies to these aforementioned categories of people to provide a safe environment that promotes educational activities. * This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the standards and requirements for approval of providers of continuing education in podiatric medicine. Western University of Health Sciences College of Podiatric Medicine (WesternU CPM) is approved by the Council on Podiatric Medical Education as a provider of continuing education in podiatric medicine. WesternU CPM has approved this activity for a maximum of 4.0 continuing education contact hours (CECH) for any one fiscal cycle. * This course was developed, and its content authored, by Western University of Health Sciences College of Podiatric Medicine faculty.