Michael Glotzbecker, MD, Division Chief of Pediatric Orthopedics, UH Rainbow Babies Children’s Hospital, talks about a new x-ray device that may mean less radiation exposure for kids.
What is EOS Edge Imaging?
GLOTZBECKER: EOS Edge Imaging is a new technology that offers low radiation radiology images for patients. It’s important for pediatric patients because it reduces the amount of radiation they get compared to standard x-rays by almost 85 percent. So, it really is something very important for our pediatric patients, especially those that require a lot of x-rays.
Is that something of concern where you wouldn’t x-ray every time you would want to?
GLOTZBECKER: Yes. Any time you take care of kids, you need to think about how many x-rays you get on them. That’s certainly something we think about on a daily basis. This allows us to monitor things more closely and decide to get images that maybe we wouldn’t have had in the past. It’s very important to me. I moved here about 15 months ago for this job and part of me coming is that we needed an iOS machine if we are going to be a leading pediatric center.
What can happen if a kid gets too much radiation?
GLOTZBECKER: If you think about some of our patients, they get x-rays from the time they’re babies all the way through their growth, and that cumulative radiation can be dangerous to them. Clearly, too much radiation can put you at risk for cancer or other health problems and certainly exposure when you’re at a growing stage. The issue is a lot of kids have problems that require a lot of monitoring. Therefore, they get a lot of x-rays over the time of their growth.
Are there certain conditions that pop into mind that would necessitate following a baby or child all the way through teen age and into adulthood?
GLOTZBECKER: In pediatric orthopedics, a lot of the kids we take care of do have chronic issues. I take care of a lot of kids with scoliosis. Some of them are diagnosed as early as three or six months of age and are treated all the way through their adolescence. There’s also lots of other issues where you have congenital problems with your arms, legs, or feet that require x-rays every four to six months over 15 to 20 years. And those patients are going to continue to need x-rays as adults.
Is the EOS edge just as good or better imaging than traditional x-rays?
GLOTZBECKER: In addition to the radiation exposure, I think it has a couple other real big advantages. It’s very patient centric. You can stand in it and it’s open, which I think the patients enjoy. Also, from a data quality, we get more information and probably better information than a standard x-ray. You’re able to get two images for the price of one and can get an x-ray from the front in the side, whereas before that would require two separate x-rays. We’re also able to take those images and reconstruct them into 3-D images. That’s really important when it comes to certain orthopedic conditions. In particular, when we look at surgical planning and things along those nature.
What allows it to do this without the radiation?
GLOTZBECKER: Well, it’s by design. It’s a Nobel Prize winning technology, but it basically is designed so that it can take two images at once. The technology inside allows it to do with far less radiation. It even has the new iOS edge, which we have, which is the second in the country that can differentially radiate different parts of the body so it can keep radiation away from the areas that are the most sensitive and focus the radiation on the areas that we’re most concerned about.
So, why ever use the traditional x-ray machine again?
GLOTZBECKER: I agree. Especially if you’re a pediatric patient, you want to have your images done in a machine and patients are willing to travel. I know that it’s hard to go from one clinic to another, especially if there’s one right next to your house. But for something like this, if there’s a lot of images that need to be taken over time, patients are willing to get in the car and come here. The limitation is space and money. Right? It’s expensive technology and you need to find the appropriate space. Not every institution can offer it at every location. That’s why, here at Rainbow, this is sort of the hub of where we treat our patients. I anticipate and look to grow and add additional technology in our east and west side and south markets.
What are the risks of having too much radiation throughout your life?
GLOTZBECKER: I think the biggest risk of too much radiation through your life is cancer. Too much radiation can increase your risk of cancer into adulthood. I think patients are particularly susceptible when they are growing. So, we take care of kids that are a young age and are growing. The problem is a lot of kids have chronic conditions that require more. That cumulative effect of the radiation over time is really what puts them at risk for health problems in the future.
Is this also being used for adults?
GLOTZBECKER: I think adults do still benefit from lower radiation technology. Some of the technology in it allows us to have better images that allow us to take better care of our patients. So, the ability to make two dimensional images three dimensional gives us advanced surgical planning options. Things like trauma and joint replacements and adult spine surgery where we’re looking at whole body alignment. The nature of the x-ray also allows you to take a picture of the entire body at once as opposed to a focused x-ray. So, that ability to look at the overall patient alignment is something that adult patients also benefit greatly from.
What’s the difference in cost between the EOS edge and traditional x-ray machines?
GLOTZBECKER: I don’t know what the traditional x-ray machine costs to be honest with you. It probably is a factor difference in cost when you look at an iOS machine versus a standard x-ray machine. The other challenge is just by the design that the technology and engineering behind it requires a certain physical space footprint. That isn’t so easy sometimes in older buildings or older hospital settings. So, some of the cost of installing one of these is finding physical space where it can exist.
We’ll be seeing Taylor tomorrow and she has scoliosis. Did Taylor go through the Edge machine?
GLOTZBECKER: Yes. Taylor went through the iOS machine. She has early onset scoliosis. So, she’s young and going to require a lot of x-rays over time. Because they can go in and stand and it’s colorful and open, it’s a little less daunting for them than other traditional x-rays. When you go into that dark room and there’s a light shining on you, it’s a little bit different. I think from a patient perspective, especially a young kid, it’s a lot more friendly to their radiation exposure.
Are these machines in a lot of children’s hospitals, or are they just kind of starting to roll out?
GLOTZBECKER: The iOS edge, which gives slightly less radiation, has better image quality and also technology in it that allows you to give differential radiation. Exposure is new. It just came out and we have the second one in the entire country, with the first being in northeast Ohio. So, iOS or standard iOS technology, is becoming standard for pediatric hospitals. Usage is the next level of technology which will now be rolled out. But again, I think it’s going to become standard for most pediatric hospitals.
Interview conducted by Ivanhoe Broadcast News.
END OF INTERVIEW
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