Strategies for Dose Reduction and Improvement of Image Quality in Chest CT

Abstract

The last two decades have witnessed a dramatic escalation in the utilization of computed tomography (CT) for diagnostic purposes, and there has been a corresponding increase in patient and physician concern regarding the potential for long-term carcinogenesis. Therefore it is essential to embrace the ALARA principle in which radiation exposures are maintained “as low as reasonably achievable” and progressive improvements in CT design and software algorithms have facilitated significant reductions in radiation exposure while maintaining diagnostic image quality. This chapter is not meant to provide an exhaustive review of all these advances but instead will focus on the advances that are applicable to a wider scope of clinical applications in adult chest CT. The material will be discussed under the following sections: appropriateness guidelines, x-ray tube assembly, patient-related factors, and x-ray detector and post-processing algorithms.