title: The effect of radiation dose reduction on clinical image quality in chest radiography of premature neonates using a dual-side readout technique computed radiography system.
abstract: The purpose of the present study was to investigate if the exposure could be reduced from the clinical setting (resulting in an effective dose of 8 microSv for a neonate of weight 0.7 kg and height 25 cm at a tube voltage of 90 kV) without negatively influencing the image quality for a dual-side readout technique computed radiography (CR) system in chest radiography of premature neonates. Chest radiographs of premature neonates were acquired with the double-side readout technique CR system. The images underwent simulated dose reduction in steps of 20 % to represent five different radiation dose levels. Four image quality criteria, related to the visibility of important anatomical structures, were used in a visual grading study where five experienced radiologists rated how well the criteria were fulfilled for all images. When reducing the radiation dose, a decrease in image quality could be observed already at the 80 % dose level for all the structures. The results indicate that a decrease in exposure from the clinically used setting affects the image quality negatively for the CR system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Physics, University of Gothenburg, SE-413 45 Gothenburg, Sweden.
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carlander
authors.forename: Jonny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hansson
authors.forename: Jonas
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Söderberg
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Steneryd
authors.forename: Magnus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Båth
mesh_terms: D001822:Body Burden; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011835:Radiation Protection / Q000379:methods*; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity