A dose index as a tool to estimate paediatric patient doses in digital projection radiography

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Radiology
• Radiation Dosimetry

Background:

• Childhood radiation exposure poses a significantly higher lifetime risk compared to adult exposure.
• Effective paediatric patient dose monitoring is a critical concern in diagnostic radiology.
• Accurate estimation of radiation dose is essential for patient safety and epidemiological studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate the utility of a dose index found in the Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine (DICOM) header.
• To assess if this dose index can reliably estimate the Entrance Surface Dose (ESD) for paediatric radiological procedures.
• To determine the accuracy of the DICOM dose index for paediatric chest examinations.

Main Methods:

• A study involving 156 paediatric patients undergoing chest examinations.
• Utilized the National Radiation Protection Board Report 318 model for patient age categorization and thickness estimation.
• Compared corrected DICOM dose index values with calculated ESD derived from tube output and radiographic techniques.

Main Results:

• The deviation between the corrected dose index and calculated Entrance Surface Dose (ESD) was within 2% across all age groups studied.
• An exception was noted for patients up to one year of age, where the deviation was slightly higher.
• The DICOM dose index demonstrated high validity as a dosimetric quantity for estimating ESD in paediatric patients.

Conclusions:

• The DICOM header dose index is a valid and reliable tool for estimating Entrance Surface Dose (ESD) in paediatric patients.
• This validated index facilitates the management and expansion of patient dose databases for improved radiation safety.
• The findings support the routine use of DICOM dose index for dose assessment in paediatric radiology.