Breast shields better at reducing dose than posteriorly centered partial CT, study finds

May 4, 2011 in Cancer

The use of breast shields is the technique of choice to protect the breasts of women from radiation exposure while undergoing chest CT examinations, according to a new study.

The use of CT has grown exponentially which brings into question the level of radiation exposure to patients. Recently the International Commission of Radiation Protection (ICRP) increased the tissue weighting factor for the breast from 0.05 to 0.1 noting that is even more sensitive to than previously thought, said Rafel Tappouni, MD, the lead author of the study. To put the risk into perspective, the delivery of 1 rad to a 35 old woman is estimated to increase her lifetime risk of by 13.6%; each CT exam delivers at least twice that amount, he said.
.

Dr. Tappouni and his colleagues at Penn State Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, PA measured the to the front and back of a breast phantom (a object that mimics the size of the breast area of a person) using a breast shield and using a new technique called posteriorly-centered partial CT. In posteriorly centered partial CT, the turns on and off as it scans the patient. "We found that posteriorly centered partial CT does decrease skin entrance radiation dose to the breast by 16%, but increases overall radiation dose to the chest by 8%," said Dr. Tappouni. "The bismuth breast shields, on the other hand, reduced skin entrance dose to the breast by 38% without an increase in overall radiation dose," he said.

Dr. Tappouni noted that they now use breast shields at his facility for all female patients up to age 90 who undergo chest CT examinations.

More information: The study is being presented during the American Roentgen Ray Society Annual Meeting on May 4 in Chicago.

Provided by American Roentgen Ray Society

not rated yet  

Rank not rated yet
Relevant PhysicsForums posts

More news stories

Small cancer risk following CT scans in childhood and adolescence confirmed

The gap between life expectancy in patients with a mental illness and the general population has widened since 1985 and efforts to reduce this gap should focus on improving physical health, suggest researchers in a paper ...

Cancer created 3 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Changing cancer's environment to halt its spread

By studying the roles two proteins, thrombospondin-1 and prosaposin, play in discouraging cancer metastasis, a trans-Atlantic research team has identified a five-amino acid fragment of prosaposin that significantly reduces ...

Cancer created 4 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Novel RNA-based classification system for colorectal cancer

A novel transcriptome-based classification of colon cancer that improves the current disease stratification based on clinicopathological variables and common DNA markers is presented in a study published in PLOS Medicine this w ...

Cancer created 5 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Low radiation scans help identify cancer in earliest stages

A study of veterans at high risk for developing lung cancer shows that low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) can be highly effective in helping clinicians spot tiny lung nodules which, in a small number of patients, may indicate ...

Cancer created 6 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Poliovirus vaccine trial shows early promise for recurrent glioblastoma

An attack on glioblastoma brain tumor cells that uses a modified poliovirus is showing encouraging results in an early study to establish the proper dose level, researchers at Duke Cancer Institute report.

Cancer created 8 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0


If you can remember it, you can remember it wrong

(Medical Xpress)—Native peoples in regions where cameras are uncommon sometimes react with caution when their picture is taken. The fear that something must have been stolen from them to create the photo ...

B vitamins could delay dementia

(Medical Xpress)—Despite spending billions of dollars on research and development, drug companies have been unable to come up with effective treatments for dementia and Alzheimer's Disease (AD). Now, A. ...

New sleeping pill poised to hit US markets

An experimental sleeping pill from US drug company Merck is effective at helping people fall and stay asleep, according to reviewers at the US Food and Drug Administration, which could soon approve the new drug.

Reducing caloric intake delays nerve cell loss

Activating an enzyme known to play a role in the anti-aging benefits of calorie restriction delays the loss of brain cells and preserves cognitive function in mice, according to a study published in the May ...

Insight into the dazzling impact of insulin in cells

Australian scientists have charted the path of insulin action in cells in precise detail like never before. This provides a comprehensive blueprint for understanding what goes wrong in diabetes.

Antidepressant reduces stress-induced heart condition

A drug commonly used to treat depression and anxiety may improve a stress-related heart condition in people with stable coronary heart disease, according to researchers at Duke Medicine.