title: Quantitative CT for determination of thorium in thorotrast patients.
abstract: The concentrations of thorium in the liver, spleen, and their efferent lymph nodes were determined in six thorotrast patients by quantitative CT scanning. Thorium concentration per CT number was calibrated by scanning a phantom that contained a known concentration of thorium nitrate solution. The total amount of thorium determined by the quantitative CT method in the liver, spleen, and lymph nodes was compared with that determined by gamma-ray measurement of the upper abdomen using a whole body counter. A linear relationship was obtained between the amount of thorium determined by the CT method and that determined by the gamma-ray measurement method, although the correlation was not high. The quantitative CT method appears to be useful for determining, with some accuracy, the concentration of thorium in the liver, spleen, and lymph nodes of thorotrast patients.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Hamamatsu University, School of Medicine, Shizuoka, Japan.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takai
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kaneko
mesh_terms: D005720:Gamma Rays; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000032:analysis*; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000032:analysis*; D013154:Spleen / Q000032:analysis*; D013910:Thorium / Q000032:analysis*; D013911:Thorium Dioxide; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D014915:Whole-Body Counting
chemical_list: D013910:Thorium; D013911:Thorium Dioxide