title: Reducing radiation dose in emergency computed tomography with automatic exposure control techniques.
abstract: Computed tomography (CT) scanning is being increasingly used for evaluation of trauma, which most commonly involves younger individuals. As younger patients are at higher risk for radiation-induced cancer compared to older patients, radiation dose reduction is an important issue in emergency CT scanning. With automatic exposure control techniques, users select a desired image quality and the system adapts tube current to obtain the desired image quality with greater radiation dose efficiency. These techniques can help in reducing radiation dose by 10-60% in most instances. This review article presents a comprehensive description of fundamentals, clinical applications and radiation dose benefits of automatic exposure control in emergency CT scanning.
authors.affiliation: Division of Emergency Radiology, Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Founders 215, 55 Fruit Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Mannudeep K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Kalra
authors.forename: Stefania M R
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Rizzo
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Novelline
mesh_terms: D001331:Automation; D004632:Emergency Medical Services; D006801:Humans; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000379:methods; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods