A study evaluating the dependence of the patient dose on the CT dose change in a SPECT/CT scan

Abstract

This study assessed ways of reducing the patient dose by examining the dependence of the patient dose on the CT (computed tomography) dose in a SPECT (single-photon emission computed tomography)/CT scan. To measure the patient dose, we used Precedence 16 SPECT/CT along with a phantom for the CT dose measurement (CT dose phantom kit for adult’s head and body, Model 76-414-4150), a 100-mm ionization chamber (CT Ion Chamber) and an X-ray detector (Victoreen Model 4000M+). In addition, the patient dose was evaluated under conditions similar to those for an actual examination using an ImPACT (imaging performance assessment of CT scanners) dosimetry calculator in the Monte Carlo simulation method. The experimental method involved the use of a CT dose phantom to measure the patient dose under different CT conditions (kVp and mAs) to determine the CTDI (CT dose index) under each condition. An ImPACT dosimetry calculator was also used to measure CTDIw (CT dose indexwater), CTDIv (CT dose indexvolume), DLP (dose-length product), and effective dose. According to the patient dose measurements using the CT dose phantom, the CTDI showed an approximately 54 fold difference between when the maximum (140 kVp and 250 mAs) and the minimum dose (90 kVp and 25 mAs) was used. The CTDI showed a 4.2 fold difference between the conditions (120 kVp and 200 mAs) used mainly in a common CT scan and the conditions (120 kVp and 50 mAs) used mainly in a SPECT/CT scan. According to the measurement results using the dosimetry calculator, the effective dose showed an approximately 35 fold difference between the conditions for the maximum and the minimum doses, as in the case with the CT dose phantom. The effective dose showed a 4.1 fold difference between the conditions used mainly in a common CT scan and those used mainly in a SPECT/CT scan. This study examined the patient dose by reducing the CT dose in a SPECT/CT scan. As various examinations can be conducted due to the development of equipment, the patient faces increasing medical exposure. At this juncture, radiation workers and equipment manufacturers are required to make efforts to obtain as much medical information as possible while using the minimum radiation dose.