Experts offer pointers for optimizing radiation dose in chest CT

September 1, 2011 in Cancer

An article in the September issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology summarizes methods for radiation dose optimization in chest computed tomography (CT) scans. Chest CT is the third most commonly performed CT examination, frequently used to diagnose the cause of clinical signs or symptoms of the chest, such as cough, shortness of breath, chest pain or fever.

Regardless of the body region being scanned, dose reduction must always start with making sure that there is a justifiable clinical indication for CT scanning.

"Use of the appropriate radiation dose for chest CT is especially important because of direct of breasts, lungs and other organs, such as the thyroid, which represent some of the most radiosensitive organs in the human body," said Mahadevappa Mahesh, MS, PhD, author of the article.

Investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, in Boston, MA, and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD, reviewed practical strategies for reducing radiation dose associated with chest .

"Radiation dose reduction for chest CT requires tweaking of scanning protocols and techniques on the basis of patient age, size, clinical indications and follow-up imaging," said Mahesh.

Other specific strategies for dose reduction on chest CT involve the stratification of CT protocols on the basis of clinical indications, which determines the required image quality for assessing specific abnormalities in question.

"Pediatric chest CT should always be performed at lower radiation doses compared with chest CT in adult patients," said Mahesh.

Investigators also emphasize that limiting scan length using appropriate scan parameters such as lower tube current, automatic exposure control and lowering tube voltage for thin patients, are key to reducing for examinations in children and adults.

More information: http://www.jacr.org/

Provided by American College of Radiology

5 /5 (1 vote)  

Rank 5 /5 (1 vote)
Relevant PhysicsForums posts
  • A question about drug tolerance
    createdMay 23, 2012
  • Poor nutrition leading to overeating?
    createdMay 23, 2012
  • Math and dyslexia?
    createdMay 21, 2012
  • portable metabolism meter?
    createdMay 21, 2012
  • Rare medical conditions on 20/20 tonight
    createdMay 18, 2012
  • "Good" Cholesterol in Doubt
    createdMay 17, 2012
  • More from Physics Forums - Medical Sciences

More news stories

Skp2 activates cancer-promoting, glucose-processing Akt

HER2 and its epidermal growth factor receptor cousins mobilize a specialized protein to activate a major player in cancer development and sugar metabolism, scientists report in the May 25 issue of Cell.

Cancer created 15 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Pancreatectomy OK without downstaging from therapy

(HealthDay) -- Pancreatectomy improves median survival in pancreatic cancer patients even when presurgical neoadjuvant therapy does not lead to radiographic downstaging of tumors, according to a study published ...

Cancer created 16 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Common therapies for basal cell carcinoma offer similar survival

(HealthDay) -- For patients with superficial basal cell carcinoma (sBCC), treatment with imiquimod or photodynamic therapy (PDT) results in similar long-term tumor-free survival, according to a review published ...

Cancer created 16 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Cancer may require simpler genetic mutations than previously thought

Chromosomal deletions in DNA often involve just one of two gene copies inherited from either parent. But scientists haven't known how a deletion in one gene from one parent, called a "hemizygous" deletion, can contribute ...

Cancer created 19 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

New prostate cancer screening guidelines face a tough sell, study suggests

(Medical Xpress) -- Recent recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) advising elimination of routine prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening for prostate cancer in healthy men are likely to encounter ...

Cancer created 21 hours ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 1


Of mice and mental models: Neuroscientific implications of risk-optimized behavior in the mouse

(Medical Xpress) -- Regardless of an organism’s biological complexity, every encephalized animal continuously makes under-informed behavioral choices that can have serious consequences. Despite its ubiquity, ...

Tongue analysis software uses ancient Chinese medicine to warn of disease

For 5,000 years, the Chinese have used a system of medicine based on the flow and balance of positive and negative energies in the body. In this system, the appearance of the tongue is one of the measures used to classify ...

Inherited DNA change explains overactive leukemia gene

A small inherited change in DNA is largely responsible for overactivating a gene linked to poor treatment response in people with acute leukemia.

Early physical therapist treatment associated with reduced risk of healthcare utilization and reduced overall healthcare

A new study published in Spine shows that early treatment by a physical therapist for low back pain (LBP), as compared to delayed treatment, was associated with reduced risk of subsequent healthcare utilization and lower ...

New device allows pacemaker patients to safely undergo MRIs

For many, it's a medical conundrum: The very pacemaker keeping their heart in rhythm prevents them from undergoing an MRI to diagnose other ailments, because interaction between the two devices could prove deadly.

First study to suggest that the immune system may protect against Alzheimer's changes in humans

Recent work in mice suggested that the immune system is involved in removing beta-amyloid, the main Alzheimer's-causing substance in the brain. Researchers have now shown for the first time that this may apply in humans.