The Comparison between O-Arm Navigation System and C-Arm Fluoroscopy Navigation System for the Amount of Radiation Exposure in Balloon Kyphoplasty

Introduction Recently, balloon kyphoplasty(BKP) is widely used for osteoporptic vertebral fracture. In this study, we compare the amount of the radiation exposure between O-arm navigation system and C-arm fluoroscopy navigation system in BKP. We consider further review for the radiation exposure in BKP from here on. Material and Methods 63 patients with vertebral fracture is recruited from Kansai Erectronic Power Hospital between March 2011 and June 2014. In all cases, we monitored the amount of radiation exposure by each device. In 63 cases,10 is O-arm navigation system and 53 is C-arm fluoroscopy navigation system. Results The average amount of the radiation exposure is 35.994mGry (range 0.52–97.27) in O-arm and 17.284mGry (range 2.69–86.6) in C-arm. The average radiation time is 35.227 second (range 1.9–57.71) in O-arm and 94.886 second (range 25–319) in C-arm. Conclusion O-arm navigation system use is shorter in radiation time and larger in radiation exposure than C-arm fluoroscopy navigation system. However, the amount of the radiation exposure per unit time in O-arm navigation system is larger than in C-arm fluoroscopy navigation system. We should consider the way to reduce the radiation exposure by stepping down the output power in O-arm.