Six Medical Societies Call for Immediate Adoption of Enhanced Radiation Protection in Fluoroscopy Labs

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Six Medical Societies Call for Immediate Adoption of Enhanced Radiation Protection in Fluoroscopy Labs

New multisociety expert consensus statement says safer technologies are available now and should become the standard for protecting healthcare workers.

WASHINGTON—Healthcare professionals performing minimally invasive procedures in fluoroscopy laboratories, often called “cath labs,” should no longer have to accept preventable radiation exposure and orthopedic injuries as part of their jobs, according to an expert consensus statement released today that is endorsed by six leading medical societies.

Published today in JSCAI, the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Radiology (JVIR), and JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions, “SCAI/ASE/HRS/SIR/SVS Expert Consensus Statement on Enhanced Radiation Protection: Time for Mandatory and Urgent Action” calls for hospitals, manufacturers, regulators, and professional societies to immediately adopt enhanced radiation protection technologies, modernize radiation safety standards, and strengthen monitoring and reporting practices to better protect the healthcare teams working in fluoroscopy laboratories.

Given the availability of safer technologies, the authors say broader implementation of enhanced radiation protection devices (ERPDs) is both an ethical responsibility and a necessary evolution of ALARA (“As Low As Reasonably Achievable”), the longstanding radiation safety standard that exposures should be kept “as low as reasonably achievable.”

“For decades, we accepted occupational radiation exposure and the physical burden of heavy protective equipment as unavoidable realities of working in a fluoroscopy laboratory,” said David G. Rizik, MD, MSCAI, chair of the writing group. “That is no longer acceptable. Technologies available today can greatly reduce radiation exposure while also addressing the orthopedic injuries associated with traditional lead protection. The question is no longer whether these solutions exist. It is whether we are willing to make protecting healthcare workers the priority it deserves. This consensus makes clear that the time for implementation is now.”

ERPDs reduce radiation exposure through engineering controls rather than relying primarily on personal protective equipment. The consensus statement cites evidence that ERPDs can reduce operator and staff radiation exposure by up to 99 percent.

The statement cited a 2023 SCAI survey of interventional cardiologists, which found that nearly 60 percent reported orthopedic injuries and 17 percent reported limiting their time in the cath lab to reduce radiation exposure. Among women respondents, 28 percent reported being discouraged from working in the cath lab because of pregnancy or considering pregnancy, while 71 percent wanted the option to step away from the cath lab during pregnancy.

“Every clinician and staff member who leaves the fluoroscopy laboratory because of preventable injury or chronic occupational disease represents a loss of expertise that patients depend on, in addition to the immense pain and loss experienced by the clinician and their loved ones,” said James B. Hermiller, MD, MSCAI, cochair of the writing group. “Demand for minimally invasive procedures continues to grow, and the duration and complexity of these procedures are increasing. Maintaining a healthy, experienced workforce will be essential to ensuring patients continue to have access to the lifesaving care these teams provide.”

The statement calls for healthcare organizations and policymakers to:

• Share responsibility among healthcare institutions, manufacturers, regulators, and professional societies for improving occupational safety in fluoroscopy laboratories.
• Adopt ERPDs that can dramatically reduce occupational radiation exposure for physicians and staff.
• Modernize federal and state radiation safety regulations to reflect today’s technology and evidence.
• Measure and report radiation safety performance using real-time dosimetry and standardized quality metrics.
• Design safer fluoroscopy laboratories by integrating enhanced radiation protection into imaging systems and procedure rooms instead of relying primarily on heavy wearable lead.
• Expand education, training, and research to accelerate implementation and continuous improvement.

“Our goal is to ensure the best outcomes for patients while also protecting the healthcare professionals who deliver care in the fluoroscopy lab. Echocardiographers, particularly those involved in complex interventional and structural heart procedures, face substantial occupational radiation exposure, and traditional protective measures alone are no longer sufficient. As procedural complexity increases and the role of echocardiographers continues to expand, enhanced radiation protection technologies provide a critical opportunity to advance a safer standard of care. ASE’s own membership workforce survey results substantiate these results, depicting that 13% of labs have no safety mechanisms in place for echocardiographers or sonographers and 49% felt that measures were inadequate to protect against radiation exposure. By aligning policy, innovation, and clinical practice, healthcare systems, manufacturers, regulators, and clinical teams all have a role to play in integrating comprehensive radiation protection strategies into the infrastructure of interventional care. Doing so will help safeguard the healthcare workforce while ensuring continued growth, access, and excellence in these essential procedures,” said ASE President, Cynthia Taub, MD, MBA, FASE.

Web link: https://www.jscai.org/article/S2772-9303(26)01202-0/fulltext

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jscai.2026.105455

About Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI)

The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions, established in 1978, stands as the primary nonprofit medical society dedicated to representing invasive and interventional cardiology. SCAI’s mission is to guide the global interventional cardiovascular community by fostering education, advocacy, research, and upholding standards for quality patient care. For more than 40 years, SCAI has exemplified professional excellence and innovation worldwide, cultivating a reputable community of over 5,000 members committed to advancing medical science and providing life-saving care for individuals, both adults and children, affected by cardiovascular disease.  For more information, visit SCAI.ORG.

About American Society of Echocardiography
The American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) is the Society for Cardiovascular Ultrasound Professionals™. ASE is the largest global organization for cardiovascular ultrasound imaging serving physicians, sonographers, nurses, veterinarians, and scientists and as such is the leader and advocate, setting practice standards and guidelines for the field. The Society is committed to advancing cardiovascular ultrasound to improve lives. For more information, visit the ASE website ASEcho.org or social media pages on Facebook, X, LinkedIn, Instagram and Bluesky.