title: Radiation dose to the female breast from 16-MDCT body protocols.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The objective of our study was to determine the radiation dose to the female breast from current 16-MDCT body examinations.
  
  
  METHODS
  Metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) detectors were placed in four quadrants of the breast of a female-configured anthropomorphic phantom to determine radiation dose to the breast. Imaging was performed on a 16-MDCT scanner (LightSpeed, GE Healthcare) using current clinical protocols designed to assess pulmonary embolus (PE) (140 kVp, 380 mA, 0.8-sec rotation, 16 x 1.25 mm collimation), appendicitis (140 kVp, 340 mA, 0.5-sec rotation, 16 x 0.625 mm collimation), and renal calculus (140 kVp, 160 mA, 0.5-sec rotation, 16 x 0.625 mm collimation).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Radiation dose to the breast ranged from 4 to 6 cGy for the PE protocol and up to 1-2 cGy in the inferior aspect of the right breast and lateral aspect of the left breast for the appendicitis protocol. The renal calculus protocol yielded less than 150 microGy absorbed breast dose.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Current clinical chest and abdomen protocols result in vairable radiation doses to the breast. The magnitude of exposure may have implications for imaging strategies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Duke University Medical Center, DUMC 3808, Durham, NC 27710, USA.
authors.forename: Lynne M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Hurwitz
authors.forename: Terry T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Yoshizumi
authors.forename: Robert E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Reiman
authors.forename: Erik K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Paulson
authors.forename: Donald P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Frush
authors.forename: Giao T
authors.initials: GT
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Greta I
authors.initials: GI
authors.lastname: Toncheva
authors.forename: Philip C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Goodman
mesh_terms: D001940:Breast / Q000528:radiation effects*; D002985:Clinical Protocols; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods