title: Radiation dose reduction in thoracic and abdomen-pelvic CT using tube current modulation: a phantom study.
abstract: This phantom study was designed to compare the radiation dose in thoracic and abdomen-pelvic CT scans with and without use of tube current modulation (TCM). Effective dose (ED) and size-specific dose estimation (SSDE) were calculated with the absorbed doses measured at selective radiosensitive organs using a thermoluminescence dosimeter-100 (TLD-100). When compared to protocols without TCM, the ED and SSDE were reduced significantly with use of TCM for both the thoracic and abdomen-pelvic CT. With use of TCM, the ED was 6.50 ± 0.29 mSv for thoracic and 6.01 ± 0.20 mSv for the abdomen-pelvic CT protocols. However without use of TCM, the ED was 20.07 ± 0.24 mSv and 17.30 ± 0.41 mSv for the thoracic and abdomen-pelvic CT protocols, respectively. The corresponding SSDE was 10.18 ± 0.48 mGy and 11.96 ± 0.27 mGy for the thoracic and abdomen-pelvic CT protocols with TCM, and 31.56 ± 0.43 mGy and 33.23 ± 0.05 mGy for thoracic and abdomen-pelvic CT protocols without TCM, respectively. The highest absorbed dose was measured at the breast with 8.58 ± 0.12 mGy in the TCM protocols and 51.52 ± 14.72 mGy in the protocols without TCM during thoracic CT. In the abdomen-pelvic CT, the absorbed dose was highest at the skin with 9.30 ± 1.28mGy and 29.99 ± 2.23 mGy in protocols with and without use of TCM, respectively. In conclusion, the TCM technique results in significant dose reduction; thus it is to be highly recommended in routine thoracic and abdomen-pelvic CT.
authors: Diagnostic Imaging & Radiotherapy Program School of Diagnostic & Applied Health Sciences Faculty of Health Sciences Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 50300 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.. akmal.sabarudin@ukm.edu.my.
authors: Akmal
authors: A
authors: Sabarudin
authors: Zakira
authors: Z
authors: Mustafa
authors: Khadijah Mohd
authors: KM
authors: Nassir
authors: Hamzaini Abdul
authors: HA
authors: Hamid
authors: Zhonghua
authors: Z
authors: Sun
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010388:Pelvis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011835:Radiation Protection / Q000379:methods*; D011860:Radiography, Abdominal; D013902:Radiography, Thoracic; D013819:Thermoluminescent Dosimetry; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed / Q000379:methods*