Abstract
BackgroundRadiation dose in computed tomography (CT) has become a topic of high interest due to the increasing numbers of CT examinations performed worldwide. Hence, dose tracking and organ dose calculation software are increasingly used. We evaluated the organ dose variability associated with the use of different software applications or calculation methods.MethodsWe tested four commercial software applications on CT protocols actually in use in our hospital: CT-Expo, NCICT, NCICTX, and Virtual Dose. We compared dose coefficients, estimated organ doses and effective doses obtained by the four software applications by varying exposure parameters. Our results were also compared with estimates reported by the software authors.ResultsAll four software applications showed dependence on tube voltage and volume CT dose index, while only CT-Expo was also dependent on other exposure parameters, in particular scanner model and pitch caused a variability till 50%. We found a disagreement between our results and those reported by the software authors (up to 600%), mainly due to a different extent of examined body regions. The relative range of the comparison of the four software applications was within 35% for most organs inside the scan region, but increased over the 100% for organs partially irradiated and outside the scan region. For effective doses, this variability was less evident (ranging from 9 to 36%).ConclusionsThe two main sources of organ dose variability were the software application used and the scan region set. Dose estimate must be related to the process used for its calculation.
Highlights
Radiation dose in computed tomography (CT) has become a topic of high interest due to the increasing numbers of CT examinations performed worldwide
Variability due to exposure parameters change At the first level of analysis, we tested the effect of changing voltage, collimation, pitch, slice thickness, and scanner model
All the four software applications showed a dependence on the tube voltage, while only CT-Expo showed a dependence on the other parameters
Summary
Radiation dose in computed tomography (CT) has become a topic of high interest due to the increasing numbers of CT examinations performed worldwide. We evaluated the organ dose variability associated with the use of different software applications or calculation methods. Radiation dose in x-ray computed tomography (CT) has become a topic of high interest due to the increasing numbers of CT examinations performed worldwide [1,2,3,4,5]. Studies underlined the increase over the years in the number of CT examinations resulting in an increase in the dose per capita for the population. Depending on the acquisition setup, the dose to the organs included in the scan region was reported to range from 15 mSv for an adult to 30 mSv for a newborn, with an average of 2–3 scans per study [7]. With the increase in the collective dose for medical exposures, there has been an increase in publications focused on radiological risk estimation [10,11,12]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
