The benefits of saline flush in contrast enhancement can be used to compensate for dose reduction and reduce the risk of losing hypovascular and hypervascular lesions in the abdominal organs.
The saline flush during administration of the contrast medium is called the saline chaser, which is the secondary injection after administration of the contrast medium by a power injector. It is used in both CT and MRI.
The primary purpose of the saline chaser is to 'push' the unused contrast agent into the peripheral vessels and connecting tubes. This mechanism allows a reduction in the contrast medium volume and a reduction in the bolus artifact when seen in the superior vena cava and brachiocephalic vein during CT contrast examinations. Saline 'push' also changes the shape of the injected contrast bolus, resulting in a significant reduction in contrast enhancement due to the absence of dull contrast coming from the peripheries.
In addition to providing multi-patient safety measures, smart dual-head injectors feature a saline flush that ensures complete delivery of the contrast dose into the circulatory system and reduces the amount of iodine needed to achieve optimal imaging. They may also provide benefits such as improved bolus geometry, less artifice than some CT studies, and reduced risk of contrast-induced nephropathy.
The dual-head injection protocol consists of an initial saline test injection performed manually to verify the patency of the venous access, followed by a power injection of contrast bolus and saline chaser.
An additional benefit of using saline's power-injected test bolt is the standardization effect. By using regular power injection for test bolus, test injections are performed using the same flow rate each time as opposed to hand injection, which varies from technician to technician, ”said Dr. Lee, author of the new test injection protocol.
Other advantages of this technology include significant cost savings and potential increase in safety in replacing 50 mL of non-ionic contrast material with 50 mL of sterile saline solution.
The use of a saline chaser in abdominal CT scanning reduces the amount of contrast material in nuclear locations that do not require contrast material, saving significant cost and reducing nephrotoxicity.
Saline Chaser Technique to Reduce Both Contrast Material Use and Beam Hardening Artifact During Thoracic CT.
Use of saline flush immediately after contrast injection
There are many potential benefits.
This contrast will otherwise take out the remaining material
In injection tubes.
It also eliminates the additional step of flushing the vascular access site.
Residual contrast agent after injection.
By increasing the contrast bolus, it can be made more desirable.
Bolus size.
It also increases the amount of contrast available for use in the image.
Acquisition and artifacts can be reduced.
Generally, a dual power injector is required for saline flush.
Minor factors include cardiac output and body surface area. a
Low cardiac output (low ejection fraction) leads to high peak
Arterial dilation and arterial dilation take longer to maximize.
Large surface area of the body leads to weakening of the contrast and
Decreased peak artery growth.
Therefore the ‘elderly’ patient may need larger doses of contrast
Achieve the same peak attenuation.
Factors such as age, gender and hemodynamic parameters (blood)
Stress and heart rate) usually do not affect the geometry.
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