Automated framework for digital radiation dose index reporting from CT dose reports

Area of Science:

• Medical Imaging
• Radiology
• Health Informatics

Background:

• Computed tomography (CT) radiation exposure has risen significantly, comprising 50% of medical radiation.
• Current CT dose index (CTDI) tracking is manual and difficult due to non-digital, image-embedded data.
• Lack of automated systems hinders quality control and patient radiation exposure monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a Dose Index Reporting Application (DIRA) for CT.
• To automate the extraction of radiation dose index information from CTDI reports.
• To enable automated quality control, radiation safety awareness, and longitudinal patient radiation exposure records.

Main Methods:

• Developed a vendor-independent DIRA system for CT scanners.
• Processed 518 CTDI reports using DICOM C-STORE for automated data extraction.
• Utilized a web-based framework with a SQL database for compiling dose and patient information.

Main Results:

• DIRA achieved 100% accuracy in extracting dose index information from 518 CTDI reports.
• Developed correction factors for patient size using variable phantom sizes.
• Demonstrated automated CTDI tracking on existing CT scanners, independent of DICOM SR Dose Index Report standard.

Conclusions:

• The modular DIRA system integrates with any CT scanner, facilitating digital dose index reporting.
• Enables a longitudinal record of healthcare radiation exposure in individual patient records.
• Promotes enhanced radiation safety and automated quality control in CT imaging.