Imaging Technology News - January/February 2009 - (Page 23)

Advances In CT DOSE Dr. Frush believes that more can be done to lower the dose, including having better dose estimates on CT scanners for children, which is currently being worked on by The Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging and other organizations. Dr. Frush would like to see all vendors adopt a universal language that represents dose on the exam, and that the dose is not “buried somewhere in DICOM information” but is conveyed in a way that is easily understood. Having protocol warnings on the scanner would also be helpful, said Dr. Frush, so if a protocol were put into the scanner that falls outside of a guideline range, a manual override would need to be made before the scan started. “Right now you can do whatever you want and get whatever exam you want,” Dr. Frush said. Trauma CT Dose considerations for trauma victims are important since many victims are relatively young, according to Monique Brink, M.D., and Frank de Lange, Ph.D., of the department of diagnostic imaging at Radbound University Nijmegen Medical Centre in the Netherlands. They recently completed a clinical trial measuring how arm position affects the image quality and effective dose for CT scans of trauma patients using a 16-slice CT. The study showed that positioning the patients’ arms above the shoulder, when possible, increased image quality and kept the median effective dose to 18.6 mSv. Patients positioned with one arm below the shoulder saw an 18 percent increase in radiation dose, while patients with both arms below the shoulder saw a 45 percent increase in dose. The substantial increase in mSv surprised Dr. Brink and de Lange. According to the clinicians, AEC (automated exposure controlled) techniques automatically adapt the tube current to the patient’s attenuation and shape. In a scan of a patient’s torso, the arms contribute to a higher patient volume, thereby increasing radiation dose. “We always have been using a protocol in which arm raising is preferred in trauma CT scanning,” Dr. Brink said. “However, after this study, not only radiologists and technicians, but also other trauma team members — surgeons, emergency physicians, anesthesiologists and nurses — are more aware to position the patients’ arms above the shoulder region.” apply the techniques to lower radiation exposure. The Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) serves as a tremendous educational resource for physicians and technologists, and is dedicated to ensuring expert and appropriate application of SCCT through training and accreditation for healthcare professionals. The society’s president-elect Jack Ziffer, Ph.D., M.D., who is chief of radiology at Baptist Hospital of Miami and the director of cardiac imaging at Toshiba’s Aquilion ONE was reportedly the first CT scanner to the Baptist Cardiac image the entire heart in a single heartbeat, helping to reduce and Vascular the dose. Institute in Miami, points out that “dramatic dose reductions can be achieved when physicians and technologists are aware of what the doses actually are.” He continued, “An additional approach is encouraging participation in laboratory accreditation through ICACTL (as an example), and physician certification through CBCCT, as mechanisms for referring physicians and patients to recognize laboratories and physicians that have documented expertise in CCTA and knowledge of dose reduction strategies.” As the society’s new president, Dr. Ziffer says, “the SCCT will pursue efforts to ensure that awareness is maximized.” ITN For More Information www.usa.siemens.com/healthcare www.medical.toshiba.com www.gehealthcare.com www.pedrad.org www.scct.org www.scpab.eu www.sharpview.com Maximize Awareness Part of the challenge facing the medical community is training doctors how to Image Optimizing Software Enabling Lower CT Dose Clarity™ CT Solution is an Image Enhancement, Post Processing Product Enabling 20-50% or more Radiation Dose Reduction while Retaining Diagnostic Quality. Clarity CT, XR, Ultrasound and Fluoro Solutions Clarity. “We have lowered the dose by 50–90% in cardiac CT calcium screening and non-invasive coronary angiography; this is routinely achievable using Clarity, ITNonline.net | Jan/Feb 2009 | ITN | 23 http://www.usa.siemens.com/healthcare http://www.pedrad.org http://www.medical.toshiba.com http://www.scct.org http://www.gehealthcare.com http://www.scpab.eu http://www.sharpview.com http://www.claritysolutions.org http://www.claritysolutions.org http://www.ITNonline.net

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Imaging Technology News - January/February 2009

Imaging Technology News - January/February 2009 Contents IMRT Imaging RT Solutions for Troublesome Tumors PACS Radiology to Close the Imaging Loop Will Web-Based PACS Take Over? Is CT Dose Under Control? The Best in Digital Mammography Breast Biopsy Systems MX Series Monitors Provide University of Pennsylvania Quality Assurance Reduce Waste to Raise Revenue

Imaging Technology News - January/February 2009

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