5 Key Takeaways

• 1

  Suspended lead suits significantly reduced occupational radiation exposure for interventional echocardiographers during left atrial appendage occlusion procedures.

• 2

  The median head-level radiation dose was 0 μSv with suspended lead suits compared to 11 μSv with traditional lead aprons.

• 3

  60% of procedures using suspended lead suits had undetectable radiation exposure, while none of the traditional lead apron procedures achieved this.

• 4

  Even after normalizing for procedural radiation use, suspended lead suits showed lower exposure at 0.0 μSv/Gy × cm² versus 0.6 μSv/Gy × cm² for aprons.

• 5

  The study's findings are limited to a single institution and specific procedures, necessitating further multicenter research for broader applicability.