ABDOMEN-PELVIS COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY PROTOCOL OPTIMIZATION: AN IMAGE QUALITY AND DOSE ASSESSMENT.

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Medical Imaging
• Radiation Physics

Background:

• Computed tomography (CT) is crucial for diagnosing abdominal and pelvic pathologies.
• Minimizing radiation dose while maintaining image quality is a key challenge in CT imaging.
• Automatic tube current modulation (ATCM) is a technique designed to optimize radiation dose.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the image quality and radiation dose of abdomen-pelvis CT protocols utilizing ATCM.
• To assess the impact of ATCM on diagnostic performance and patient safety.
• To establish a reproducible methodology for optimizing CT protocols in clinical practice.

Main Methods:

• Five distinct CT protocols were implemented on 16-slice and 64-slice scanners.
• An anthropomorphic phantom was used for precise dosimetric measurements.
• Analytical phantoms and retrospective patient examinations were employed for comprehensive image quality analysis.

Main Results:

• A significant reduction in effective radiation dose was observed across all evaluated protocols.
• Objective image quality parameters (noise, contrast, spatial resolution) showed no significant degradation (p > 0.05).
• Patient image quality assessments consistently fell within the 'Optimum/Acceptable' range.

Conclusions:

• ATCM effectively reduces radiation dose in abdomen-pelvis CT without compromising image quality.
• The evaluated CT protocols offer a balance between diagnostic efficacy and patient safety.
• This ATCM optimization methodology is readily adaptable for routine clinical implementation.