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TLD assessment of mouse dosimetry during microCT imaging
Author(s) -
Figueroa Said Daibes,
Winkelmann Christopher T.,
Miller William H.,
Volkert Wynn A.,
Hoffman Timothy J.
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
medical physics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.473
H-Index - 180
eISSN - 2473-4209
pISSN - 0094-2405
DOI - 10.1118/1.2959847
Subject(s) - kerma , thermoluminescent dosimeter , dosimeter , ionization chamber , nuclear medicine , dosimetry , thermoluminescent dosimetry , ionizing radiation , medical imaging , absorbed dose , materials science , dose profile , medicine , medical physics , irradiation , radiology , chemistry , physics , ionization , nuclear physics , ion , organic chemistry
Advances in laboratory animal imaging have provided new resources for noninvasive biomedical research. Among these technologies is microcomputed tomography (microCT) which is widely used to obtain high resolution anatomic images of small animals. Because microCT utilizes ionizing radiation for image formation, radiation exposure during imaging is a concern. The objective of this study was to quantify the radiation dose delivered during a standard microCT scan. Radiation dose was measured using thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs), which were irradiated employing an 80 kVp x‐ray source, with 0.5 mm Al filtration and a total of 54 mA s for a full 360 deg rotation of the unit. The TLD data were validated using a 3.2cm 3CT ion chamber probe. TLD results showed a single microCT scan air kerma of 78.0 ± 5.0 mGy when using a poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) anesthesia support module and an air kerma of 92.0 ± 6.0 mGy without the use of the anesthesia module. The validation CT ion chamber study provided a measured radiation air kerma of 81.0 ± 4.0 mGy and 97.0 ± 5.0 mGy with and without the PMMA anesthesia module, respectively. Internal TLD analysis demonstrated an average mouse organ radiation absorbed dose of 76.0 ± 5.0 mGy . The author's results have defined x‐ray exposure for a routine microCT study which must be taken into consideration when performing serial molecular imaging studies involving the microCT imaging modality.