title: How I do it: managing radiation dose in CT.
abstract: Computed tomography (CT) is an imaging test that is widely used worldwide to establish medical diagnoses and perform image-guided interventions. More recently, concern has been raised about the risk of carcinogenesis from medical radiation, with a focus on CT. The purpose of this article is to (a) describe the importance of educating radiology personnel, patients, and referring clinicians about the concerns over CT radiation, (b) describe commonly used CT parameters and radiation units, (c) discuss the importance of establishing a dedicated radiology team to manage CT radiation, and (d) describe specific CT techniques to minimize radiation while providing diagnostic examinations.
authors.affiliation: From the Department of Radiology, Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI (W.W.M.); Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Scottsdale, Ariz (A.K.H., W.P.); Russell H. Morgan Department of Radiology and Radiological Science, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Md (M.M.); and Department of Abdominal Imaging/Intervention, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Mass (D.V.S.).
authors.forename: William W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Mayo-Smith
authors.forename: Amy K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Hara
authors.forename: Mahadevappa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mahesh
authors.forename: Dushyant V
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Sahani
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Pavlicek
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D006801:Humans; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000458:organization & administration; D061214:Patient Safety; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011835:Radiation Protection / Q000379:methods*; D011857:Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D011871:Radiology / Q000193:education; D011874:Radiometry / Q000379:methods*; D009626:Terminology as Topic; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed