Open AccessHow I Do It: Managing Radiation Dose in CT
Author(s) -
William W. Mayo-Smith,
Amy K. Hara,
Mahadevappa Mahesh,
Dushyant V. Sahani,
William Pavlicek
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
radiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.118
H-Index - 295
eISSN - 1527-1315
pISSN - 0033-8419
DOI - 10.1148/radiol.14132328
Subject(s) - medicine , medical diagnosis , medical physics , radiology , medical imaging , radiation dose , radiation exposure , computed tomography , medical radiation , radiation oncology , nuclear medicine , radiation therapy
Computed tomography (CT) is an imaging test that is widely used worldwide to establish medical diagnoses and perform image-guided interventions. More recently, concern has been raised about the risk of carcinogenesis from medical radiation, with a focus on CT. The purpose of this article is to (a) describe the importance of educating radiology personnel, patients, and referring clinicians about the concerns over CT radiation, (b) describe commonly used CT parameters and radiation units, (c) discuss the importance of establishing a dedicated radiology team to manage CT radiation, and (d) describe specific CT techniques to minimize radiation while providing diagnostic examinations.