FITCHBURG, MASS. September 27, 2018 – Image Diagnostics has entered into a product development agreement with ECLS, Inc. a company founded by James Goldstein, MD to design a groundbreaking radiation shield expected to debut at RSNA 2018. Dr. Goldstein, a Cardiologist at Royal Oak Michigan’s Beaumont Hospital is an innovator in his field for over 35 years. Along with providing exceptional patient care and clinical research on myocardial infarction, he has been dedicated to create a safer work environment for interventional physicians. The radiation shield, conceptualized by Dr. Goldstein, is expected to mark a new era for the safety of the interventional suite, addressing the adverse health effects of radiation exposure and the strain of long term wear of protective lead during interventional surgery.

“Our system currently in development is designed with a radiation shielding apparatus to facilitate performance of fluoroscopic catheterization procedures with unprecedented radiation reduction,” said Dr. James Goldstein. “Decreasing the risk of cancer and cataracts and eliminating the need of wearing protective lead that often causes orthopedic burdens, it will cause a paradigm shift in the occupational health of interventionalists.”

Small measures have been taken in recent years to safeguard interventional staff from radiation exposure, including enhanced training, frame rate reduction, techniques for positioning and various shielding systems. Despite these efforts, interventionalists are still exposed to radiation daily while wearing personal protective lead, which only partially protects them. This, according to many epidemiologic studies, leads to orthopedic injuries (especially the spine) the induction of cataracts and may be associated with greater risk for cancers. In aggregate, these ailments contribute to missed days of work and, or unwanted early retirement from the field [1].
Major health repercussions posed to interventionalists today due to cumulative adverse effects of bearing weight of personal protective lead and radiation exposure:

• Orthopedic Illness
The orthopedic consequences of wearing protective lead in the current interventional suite are staggering – 60% of cardiologists have reported spinal issues after just 21 years in practice, 28% report knee, hip or ankle problems and 33% miss work due to orthopedic issues caused by cumbersome protective apparel and poor ergonomic design of interventional suites [1]. In a SCAI survey, nearly half of the 424 respondents reported spine problems [2]. The daily bearing of weight over time largely places interventionalists at risk for spinal, knee, hip and ankle pain and illness with a strong correlation being found between the number of years in practice and the incidence of these impairing orthopedic problems [2].

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