X-ray fluoroscopy

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

a real-time continuous X-ray imaging technique that produces a live moving image of the patient's internal structures, enabling dynamic visualisation of anatomical motion and the guidance of interventional procedures; fluoroscopy uses an X-ray source and a fluorescent screen or digital detector to display the X-ray image in real time, analogous to a live X-ray movie rather than a single static exposure; historically performed with a fluorescent screen viewed directly by the radiologist in a darkened room (with its well-documented radiation risk), modern fluoroscopy uses image intensifiers and flat-panel digital detectors with digital subtraction capabilities; fluoroscopy is essential for barium swallow and meal studies of the gastrointestinal tract, cardiac catheterisation and coronary angiography, orthopaedic procedures such as fracture reduction and joint injections, interventional radiology procedures, and swallowing studies; because fluoroscopy involves continuous X-ray exposure, radiation dose management is critical

Examples

• Fluoroscopy guided the interventional cardiologist as the stent was deployed in the coronary artery.
• A barium swallow under fluoroscopy demonstrated a filling defect in the oesophagus consistent with a pharyngeal pouch.

Synonyms: fluoroscopic imaging, real-time X-ray, cine imaging