Developments in CT Dose Optimization

August 1, 2012 | Evaluations & Guidance

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Computed tomography (CT) is an indispensable diagnostic tool. Unfortunately, it delivers high doses of ionizing radiation, and this fact, combined with its wide use, makes CT responsible for a significant proportion of the overall ionizing radiation dose received by patients. In fact, the most recent national data published by the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements shows that CT accounts for about 50% of the radiation dose from man-made sources in the United States.

In any CT study, the diagnostic quality is affected by the dose used—as the dose increases, the image quality will usually increase. But the improvement in quality is gradual, and there is no unambiguous threshold between a diagnostically useful image and a useless one. Thus, there is no way of knowing...

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