A database of 40 patient-based computational models for benchmarking organ dose estimates in CT

Patient radiation burden in computed tomography (CT) can best be characterized through risk estimates derived from organ doses. Organ doses can be estimated by Monte Carlo simulations of the CT procedures on computational phantoms assumed to emulate the patients. However, the results are subject to uncertainties related to how accurately the patient and CT procedure are modeled. Different methods can lead to different results. This paper, based on decades of organ dosimetry research, offers a database of CT scans, scan specifics, and organ doses computed using a validated Monte Carlo simulation of each patient and acquisition. It is aimed that the database can serve as means to benchmark different organ dose estimation methods against a benchmark dataset.

Organ doses were estimated for 40 adult patients (22 male, 18 female) who underwent chest and abdominopelvic CT examinations. Patient-based computational models were created for each patient including 26 organs for female and 25 organs for male cases. A Monte Carlo code, previously validated experimentally, was applied to calculate organ doses under constant and two modulated tube current conditions.

The generated database reports organ dose values for chest and abdominopelvic examinations per patient and imaging condition. Patient information and images and scan specifications (energy spectrum, bowtie filter specification, and tube current profiles) are provided. The database is available at publicly accessible digital repositories.

Consistency in patient risk estimation, and associated justification and optimization requires accuracy and consistency in organ dose estimation. The database provided in this paper is a helpful tool to benchmark different organ dose estimation methodologies to facilitate comparisons, assess uncertainties, and improve risk assessment of CT scans based on organ dose.