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Irradiator Commissioning and Dosimetry for Assessment of LQ α and β Parameters, Radiation Dosing Schema, and in vivo Dose Deposition
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Radiation dose reduction by adjusting bolus tracking parameters in a 320-detector row scanner

Jacqueline Kioko Nishimura Matsumoto1, Antonildes Nascimento Assuncao-Jr1, Roberto Nery Dantas Junior1

  • 1Computed Tomography Department, Heart Institute (InCor), University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Brazil.

Journal of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography
|April 15, 2018
PubMed

Insights

Optimizing bolus tracking (BT) parameters in coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) significantly reduces effective radiation dose (ERD). Adjusting BT protocols lowers radiation exposure without compromising diagnostic image quality.

Area of Science:

  • Radiology
  • Medical Imaging
  • Radiation Dose Reduction

Background:

  • Bolus tracking (BT) is crucial for optimizing contrast delivery in coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA).
  • The impact of BT parameter optimization on total effective radiation dose (ERD) in CTA has been under-explored.
  • Reducing ERD is a key objective in modern medical imaging.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether adjusting BT parameters can effectively reduce ERD in CTA.
  • To evaluate the impact of different BT delay and intermittent scan timings on radiation dose.
  • To assess if dose reduction affects image quality.

Main Methods:

  • 289 adult patients undergoing CTA were allocated to four BT protocols with varying delay and intermittent scan times.
  • Protocols differed in delay (10s vs. 15s) and intermittent scan frequency (1s vs. 2s).
  • Image quality and total ERD were assessed for each protocol.

Main Results:

  • Overall ERD in BT was significantly lower than in standard acquisition (0.32 ± 0.14 mSv vs. 6.06 ± 0.66 mSv).
  • ERD varied significantly across BT protocols (p < 0.001), with protocol D (15s delay, 2s intermittent scans) showing the lowest dose (0.23 ± 0.09 mSv).
  • Protocol D demonstrated the highest reduction in ERD (β = -0.33, p = 0.004) without compromising image quality.

Conclusions:

  • Adjusting bolus tracking parameters by increasing delay time and decreasing scan frequency reduces radiation dose in CTA.
  • Optimized BT protocols significantly lower ERD compared to standard methods.
  • Radiation dose reduction is achievable without sacrificing diagnostic image quality in CTA.
Abstract

Keywords:
320 detector-row scannerBolus trackingCoronary computed tomography angiographyImage qualityRadiation dose reduction

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