Iodinated contrast injection data from a new technology

Purpose: To introduce a new power injection technology that generates data as a digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) image linked to individual patient imaging studies. In addition, to determine the fraction of patients in a subject cohort whose contrast injection data was captured as a DICOM image and to analyze contrast injection properties for those patients. Methods: Over a 1-month period, authors performed a retrospective evaluation of 242 patients' consecutive contrastenhanced computed tomography (CT) studies from a single 320-detector CT scanner in an academic radiology department. Authors gathered unique patient and examination identifiers, prescribed and injected contrast and saline volumes, prescribed and injected flow rate, and mean and maximum injection pressures. The literature was reviewed for the initial description of power injectors in radiology. Results: Of the 242 CT studies evaluated, 98% had contrast injection data amended to the radiology images. For all patients, the mean volume of residual contrast was 5 mL. The differences between the prescribed and actual flow rate were small. Three patients reached the maximum pressure of 300 psi. There were no contrast extravasations. Discussion: The most clinically relevant finding was that the injector and software system generated a detailed report of contrast administration. In 98% of the cases, this report was incorporated into the patient's permanent medical record and was available to the radiologist via a single DICOM image. Conclusion: Contrast injection data can be captured in DICOM format and reliably attached to a clinical contrastenhanced CT image set for radiologist use.