Application of full-field organ dose modulation on cervical- thoraco-abdominopelvic contrast-enhanced computed tomography

• Published in: Japanese journal of radiology Vol. 39; no. 3; pp. 254 - 260
• Main Authors: Zhao, Yongxia, Geng, Xue, Li, Dongxue, Zhang, Tianle, Xu, Yize
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Singapore Springer Singapore 01-03-2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Abdomen; Breast; Chemotherapy; Computed tomography; Image contrast; Image enhancement; Image quality; Imaging; Mathematical analysis; Medical imaging; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Modulation; Nuclear Medicine; Organs; Original Article; Ovaries; Radiation; Radiation dosage; Radiology; Radiotherapy; Scanning; Signal to noise ratio; Statistical analysis; Thorax; Thyroid; Thyroid gland; Tomography; Image quality; Radiation dose; Organ dose modulation; Enhanced ct
• ISSN: 1867-1071; 1867-108X
• DOI: 10.1007/s11604-020-01056-7

Background and objective
To study the radiation dose and image quality on the use of full-field organ dose modulation (ODM) on cervical-thoracic-abdominal-pelvic contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) scanning on female chemotherapy patients.
Methods
Eighty female chemotherapy patients undergoing cervical-thoracic-abdominal-pelvic contrast-enhanced CT were prospectively enrolled and randomly divided into two groups: group A and group B, each with 40 patients. Full-field ODM technique was used on group A and regular scanning patterns were used on group B. We calculated and recorded the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), subjective scores, mean tube currents of the anterior, left, posterior, and right aspects of the thyroid, breast, and ovary layers of all the images. The CT dose index volume (CTDIvol) and dose-length product (DLP) of each patient were recorded and the effective radiation dose (ED) was calculated. The above data were statistically analyzed.
Results
There were no statistically significant differences in the SNR, CNR, and image quality scores of the thyroid, breast, and ovary layers of groups A and B during the arterial and venous phases (
P
 > 0.05). The tube current on the anterior, left, posterior, and right aspects of the thyroid, breast, and ovary layers during the arterial and venous phases (thyroid: 324.46 ± 53.2 and 327.97 ± 61.34; breast: 243.13 ± 50.04 and 248.32 ± 60.33; ovary: 332.28 ± 71.50 and 339.78 ± 76.69; respectively) of group A were (statistically) significantly lower than those of group B (thyroid: 407.60 ± 96.81 and 402.73 ± 90.15; breast: 313.00 ± 106.68 and 315.20 ± 106.73; ovary: 457.78 ± 106.56 and 459.63 ± 106.27; respectively) (
P
 < 0.05). The respective mean CTDIvol and DLP in group A were 22% and 24% lower than those of group B. The mean EDs of the neck, chest, and abdominal-pelvic region in group A were 19.3%, 21.4%, and 26.4% lower than those of group B, respectively (
P
 < 0.05).
Conclusion
The use of ODM can reduce radiation dose of female chemotherapy patients undergoing cervical-thoracic-abdominal-pelvic contrast-enhanced CT, especially radiation-sensitive organs, while maintaining overall image quality.