Recommendations on Standards for the Design of Medical Diagnostic Equipment for Adults with Disabilities, Advisory Committee Final Report

4.3.3 Imaging Equipment Used for Interventional and Biopsy Procedures with Sedated Patients

The MDE Advisory Committee viewed imaging systems used for both interventional radiology and biopsy procedures as raising special issues. Biopsies are explicitly diagnostic (i.e., biopsies provide tissue for pathological evaluation), even if they are followed by a procedure viewed as potentially therapeutic (e.g., an excisional biopsy, when an entire mass is removed). Interventional radiology includes such procedures as placement of stents in coronary arteries, opening narrowed blood vessels by dilating balloon catheters, and transarterial chemoembolization to block blood supplies to malignant tumors.
In most instances, patients undergoing these procedures receive some form of sedation prior to transfer.^CC When sedated, all patients – regardless of their physical abilities – are assisted onto the transfer surface. For this reason, the Committee viewed imaging systems used for interventions and biopsies in patients who are typically sedated as outside the scope of the accessibility standards.

Notes

^CC Patients are typically sedated to: minimize their discomfort during the procedure; and minimize their movements during procedures that often require very careful manipulation of instruments within constrained spaces (e.g., blood vessels). Patient movements in these circumstances could cause potentially life-threatening complications.