Open AccessDose study of electrocardiogram automatic tube current modulation technology in prospective coronary computed tomography angiography scans of overweight patients
Author(s) -
Guiru He,
Xiaopei Liu,
Yan Liu,
Wei Wang,
Zhiliang Ke
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
experimental and therapeutic medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1792-1015
pISSN - 1792-0981
DOI - 10.3892/etm.2015.2412
Subject(s) - medicine , nuclear medicine , radiation dose , effective dose (radiation) , prospective cohort study , image quality , tomography , heart rate , coronary angiography , overweight , radiation exposure , computed tomography angiography , radiology , computed tomography , body mass index , blood pressure , myocardial infarction , artificial intelligence , computer science , image (mathematics)
The aim of the present study was to investigate the X-ray absorption dose and clinical applications of electrocardiogram (ECG)-gated automatic tube current modulation (ATCM) technology in prospective sequential computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) scans of overweight patients. A total of 40 patients with a body mass index of >24 were divided at random into groups A and B. Group A consisted of 20 patients, who were examined using ECG-ATCM scanning. For the patients in group A with heart rates <70 bpm, the scanning range was 20-80% of the R-R interval and the patients received full-dose X-rays for 60-80% of the R-R interval. For the group A patients with heart rates >70 bpm, the scanning range was 20-80% of the R-R interval and the patients received full-dose scanning for 35-55% of the R-R interval. For the 20 patients in group B, the scanning range was 20-80% of the R-R interval and patients received a full dose of X-ray radiation for the entire scanning period. The image quality and radiation dose was compared between the two groups. The average radiation dose in groups A and B was 6.91±2.78 and 10.43±3.36, respectively. The radiation doses in group A were reduced by 33.77% when compared with group B (P<0.05). However, there was no marked difference observed in image quality. In summary, using ECG-ATCM technology in prospective sequential CTCA scanning may significantly reduce the radiation dose required for overweight patients.