Prospective study to evaluate radiation dose and image quality in two-dimensional (2D) lower limb angiographic images acquired with a novel contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR)-driven exposure control protocol

The authors aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a novel contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR)-driven exposure control protocol (OPTIQ) in reducing radiation dose during lower limb angioplasty while maintaining image quality compared to a conventional dose protocol (CDP). The study found that OPTIQ significantly reduced radiation exposure for patients and operators by approximately 60%, without compromising the diagnostic quality of the images. This suggests that OPTIQ aligns with the principles of minimizing radiation exposure in medical procedures.