Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Evaluating the appropriateness of dosimetric indices in body CT

  • MEDICAL PHYSICS
  • Published:
La radiologia medica Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

This study was done to evaluate the appropriateness of dose indices in computed tomography (CT) by comparing the body computed tomography dose index (CTDI) and the size-specific dose estimates (SSDE) to determine which of these two parameters is more appropriate to estimate the radiation dose to both adult and paediatric patients.

Materials and methods

We analysed 150 thoracic CT and 150 abdominal CT scans, half of which from adult patients and the other half from paediatric patients. We compared the values of the CTDIvol and the SSDE reporting the average, maximum and minimum percentage difference for each body region and depending on the age of the patients.

Results

In the thoracic CT and abdominal CT scans, we found values of difference between the SSDE and the CTDIvol of 26.3 and 27.3 %, respectively, in adult patients and of 46.9 and 48.5 % in paediatric patients.

Conclusions

The SSDE is a good tool for estimating the average radiation dose for a given patient depending on the input parameters and the dimensions of the specific person in question before a CT examination.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Smith-Bindaman R (2010) Is computed-tomography safe? New Engl J Med 363:1–4

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Brenner DJ, Hricak H (2010) Radiation exposure from medical imaging: time to regulate? JAMA 304:208–209

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Goske MJ, Applegate KE, Bulas D et al (2012) Image gently 5 years later: what goals remain to be accomplished in radiation protection for children? AJR Am J Roentgenol 199:477–479

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Kalra MK, Maher MM, Tothet TL et al (2004) Strategies for CT radiation dose optimization. Radiology 230:619–628

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Golding SJ (2010) Radiation exposure in CT: what is the professionally responsible approach? Radiology 255:683–686

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Robinson TJ, Robinson JD, Kanal K (2013) Implementation of the ACR dose index registry at a large academic institution: early experience. J Digit Imaging 26:309–315

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Cook TS, Zimmerman SL, Steingall S et al (2011) RADIANCE: an automated, enterprise-wide solution for archiving and reporting CT radiation dose estimates. Radiographic 31:1833–1846

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Boone J, Strauss KJ, Cody DD et al (2011) Size specific dose estimates (SSDE) in pediatric and adult body CT examinations. Report of AAPM Task Group 204. College Park: American Association of Physicists in Medicine

  9. Wilting JE, Zwartkruis A, van Van Leeuwen MS (2001) A rational approach to dose reduction in CT: individualized scan protocols. Eur Radiol 11:2627–2632

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Bauhs NT (2008) Dosimetry: comparison of measurement techniques and devices. Radiographics 28:245–253

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Colagrande S, Origgi D, Zatelli G et al (2014) CT exposure in adult and paediatric patients: a review of the mechanisms of damage, relative dose and consequent possible risks. Radiol Med 119:803–810

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Li B, Behrman RH, Norbash AM (2012) Comparison of topogram-based body size indices for CT dose consideration and scan protocol optimization. Med Phys 39:3456–3465

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Larson DB, Wang LL, Podberesky DJ, Goske MJ (2013) System for verifiable CT radiation dose optimization based on image quality. Part I. Optimization model. Radiology 269:167–176

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Larson DB, Malarik RJ, Hall SM, Podberesky D (2013) System for verifiable CT radiation dose optimization based on image quality. Part II. Process control system. Radiology 269:177–185

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. Christianson O, Li X, Frush D, Samei E (2012) Automated size-specific CT dose monitoring program. Assessing variability in CT dose. Med Phys 39:7131–7139

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Brady SL, Kaufman RA (2012) Investigation of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine Report 204 size-specific dose estimates for pediatric CT implementation. Radiology 265:832–840

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest related to the publication of this article

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Radiology, AOU Ospedali Riuniti, Ancona, Italy

    Gianluca Valeri

  2. UNIVPM, Ancona, Italy

    Gianluca Valeri, Silvia Cegna, Giovanni Mazzoni, Stefania Maggi & Andrea Giovagnoni

  3. Health Physics, AOU Ospedali Riuniti, Ancona, Italy

    Alberto Mari & Stefania Maggi

  4. Department of Radiology, AOU Ospedali Riuniti, Ancona, Italy

    Luigi La Riccia

  5. Paediatric and Special Radiology, UNIVPM, AOU Ospedali Riuniti, Ancona, Italy

    Andrea Giovagnoni

Authors
  1. Gianluca Valeri
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Silvia Cegna
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Alberto Mari
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Luigi La Riccia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Giovanni Mazzoni
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Stefania Maggi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Andrea Giovagnoni
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Gianluca Valeri.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Valeri, G., Cegna, S., Mari, A. et al. Evaluating the appropriateness of dosimetric indices in body CT. Radiol med 120, 466–473 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11547-014-0476-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11547-014-0476-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation