Effect of an Arm Traction Device on Image Quality and Radiation Exposure during Neck CT: A Prospective Study

The image quality of neck CT is frequently disturbed by streak artifact from the shoulder girdles. Our aim was to determine the effects of an arm traction device on image quality and radiation exposure in neck CT.

Patients with lymphoma with complete remission who were scheduled to undergo 2 consecutive follow-up neck CT scans for surveillance within a 1-year interval were enrolled in this prospective study. They underwent 2 consecutive neck CT scans (intervention protocol: patients with an arm traction device; standard protocol: no positioning optimization) on the same CT system. The primary outcome measures were image noise in the lower neck and dose-length product. Secondary outcomes were streak artifacts in the supraclavicular fossa, volume CT dose index, and the extent of the biacromial line shift.

Seventy-three patients were enrolled and underwent 2 consecutive CT scans with a mean interval of 155 days. In the intervention protocol, a mean noise reduction in the lower neck of 25.2%-28.5% (P < .001) was achieved, and a significant decrease in dose-length product (413 versus 397, P < .001) was observed. The intervention protocol significantly decreased streak artifacts (P < .001) and volume CT dose index (13.9 versus 13.4, P < .001) and could lower the biacromial line an average of 2.1 cm.

An arm traction device can improve image quality and reduce radiation exposure during neck CT. The device can be simply applied in cooperative patients with suspected lower neck lesions, and the approach offers distinct advantages over the conventional imaging protocol.