EVALUATION OF RADIATION DOSE IN MULTI-SLICE COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY PROTOCOLS OF HEAD AND NECK REGIONS

Area of Science:

• Radiology
• Medical Imaging
• Radiation Oncology

Background:

• Head and neck CT imaging involves radio-sensitive organs, necessitating radiation dose optimization.
• Multi-slice CT is widely used for head and neck examinations, requiring careful dose assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the radiation dose metrics, including effective dose (E), in multi-slice CT for various head and neck examinations.
• To compare the institution's radiation doses with established benchmarks from similar studies.

Main Methods:

• Assessment of Volume CT Dose Index, Dose Length Product, and effective dose (E) for 10 distinct head and neck CT protocols.
• Analysis of data from 292 adult patients undergoing multi-slice CT examinations.

Main Results:

• Median effective doses (E) were reported for specific examinations like sinuses, petrous bone/internal auditory meatus, orbit, brain, and neck.
• Overall radiation doses at the institution were found to be lower than those reported in comparable studies.
• A need for dose optimization was identified specifically for brain CT angiography (CTA) examinations.

Conclusions:

• The study provides valuable data on radiation doses for various head and neck CT protocols.
• While overall doses are acceptable, targeted optimization for brain CTA is recommended to further minimize patient exposure.