Dose Measurement in CT (CTBC 23) Flashcards
CTDI
Computed Tomography Dose Index
CTDI is calculated using phantoms of what size
16cm (head)/32cm (body)
CTDI phantoms are embedded with _______ in order to measure absorbed dose
Ionization Chambers
Phantoms scanned numerous times under average patient-scanning-parameters can be used to validate
CTDI measurements produced by the scanner
One of many reasons (phantom-related) CTDI is not a direct estimate of patient dose
Patients come in more sizes than 16cm/32cm
_______ represents the average dose to any area of the patient in the scan field
CTDI (the actual dose to specific tissues can vary significantly: e.g., skin will receive the highest and center will receive much lower)
Unit for CTDI
mGy
CTDI is useful for comparing…
Radiation output b/w patients (e.g., max mA of 300/Pt A vs max mA of 400/Pt B would display increase from 1st to 2nd Pt)
DLP is useful since CTDI indicates nothing about
length of scan
DLP
Dose Length Product (CTDI x scan length) measure of radiation output
DLP units
mGy-cm
CTDI measure of radiation output is affected by (5+)
mA
kVp
Rotation Time
Pitch
Collimation
Etc
Best for evaluating total amount of radiation received by the patient
DLP
Best for comparing the technique used between scan
CTDI
Best for estimating biological effects of radiation
DLP