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Updated: Mar 16, 2026

Irradiator Commissioning and Dosimetry for Assessment of LQ α and β Parameters, Radiation Dosing Schema, and in vivo Dose Deposition
Published on: March 11, 2021
Radiation exposure levels of routine SPECT/CT imaging protocols
Ivo Rausch1, Frank G Füchsel2, Corinna Kuderer3
1Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
This study assessed patient radiation exposure from SPECT/CT scans. On average, total effective dose was 6.7mSv, with radiopharmaceutical dose contributing most to overall exposure.
Area of Science:
- Nuclear medicine
- Medical imaging
- Radiation dosimetry
Background:
- Clinical SPECT/CT imaging combines functional and anatomical information.
- Accurate assessment of patient radiation exposure is crucial for optimizing imaging protocols.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the incremental and total patient radiation exposure from SPECT/CT imaging.
- To estimate effective doses based on different protocols and SPECT/CT systems.
Main Methods:
- Prospective documentation of patient exposure levels across three European imaging centers.
- Measurement of CT dose index, CT dose length product, and radiopharmaceutical activity.
- Estimation of effective dose from CT (EDCT) and SPECT (EDSPECT) using established conversion factors.
Main Results:
- A total of 678 SPECT/CT examinations were analyzed.
- EDCT ranged from 0.01mSv to 7.4mSv, and EDSPECT ranged from 1.1mSv to 12.2mSv.
- EDSPECT generally contributed more to the total effective dose, with an average total EDSPECT/CT of 6.7mSv.
Conclusions:
- The average total patient exposure from clinical SPECT/CT is approximately 7mSv.
- Individual radiation doses are influenced by clinical indication and specific imaging protocols.
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