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Collective Radiation Dose from MDCT: Critical Review of Surveys Studies

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Radiation Dose from Multidetector CT

Part of the book series: Medical Radiology ((Med Radiol Diagn Imaging))

Abstract

Large-scale surveys were used to establish reference dose levels (RDL) for typical CT examinations. The different findings in different countries will be compared and discussed with respect to the statistical values used. While the third quartile values of surveys are well-established to define dose levels that 75% of the users can easily maintain, it has been suggested by several authors to use the first quartile value for optimization processes defining those dose levels which can be achieved using modern technique, appropriate settings for the scan parameters and good practice. Interpretation of collected data and comparison of results of several surveys will be done with a special focus on pediatric issues. While RDLs for adult have been published frequently and have also been already updated using new data from either more recent surveys or by interpreting data from smaller samples it appears that RDL for CT examination of children have been rarely addressed in the past. Only more recent publications in 2008–2010 have recognized this issue and RDL for pediatric CT exams have now been published for a larger number of countries. For a quick estimate of patient dose and risk conversion factors from dose length product (DLP) to effective dose (f in mSv/(mGy*cm)) can be used. The various published values for children of different ages will be compared with respect to limitations and in correlation with the findings for adult patients. The effectiveness of surveys regarding dose reduction and optimization has been reviewed. The main conclusion is that although RDLs for conventional X-ray examinations have been remarkably decreased (in mean between 30 and 35%) the RDLs for CT exams have remained nearly constant in several countries or even slightly increased. Some new approaches for automatic extraction of dose values from DICOM metadata show great potential for continuous monitoring and optimization processes once all technical restrictions are solved or simplified.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medizinische Hochschule Hannover, Institut für Diagnostische und Interventionelle Radiologie, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, Hannover, 30625, Germany

    Georg Stamm

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  1. Georg Stamm
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Correspondence to Georg Stamm .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Radiology, Reseau Hospitaller de Medecine Sociale, Baudour, Belgium

    Denis Tack

  2. Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Fruit St. 55, Boston, 02114, Massachusetts, USA

    Mannudeep K. Kalra

  3. Hôspital Erasme, Department of Radiology, Université libre de Bruxelles, Route de Lennik 808, Brussels, 1070, Belgium

    Pierre Alain Gevenois

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© 2011 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Stamm, G. (2011). Collective Radiation Dose from MDCT: Critical Review of Surveys Studies. In: Tack, D., Kalra, M., Gevenois, P. (eds) Radiation Dose from Multidetector CT. Medical Radiology(). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/174_2011_433

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/174_2011_433

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-24534-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-24535-0

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