Large variation in radiation dose for routine abdomen CT: reasons for excess and easy tips for reduction.

Objective: To characterize the use and impact of radiation dose reduction techniques in actual practice for routine abdomen CT.

Methods: We retrospectively analyzed consecutive routine abdomen CT scans in adults from a large dose registry, contributed by 95 hospitals and imaging facilities. Grouping exams into deciles by, first, patient size, and second, size-adjusted dose length product (DLP), we summarized dose and technical parameters and estimated which parameters contributed most to between-protocols dose variation.

Phantom and clinical evaluation of Block Sequential Regularized Expectation Maximization (BSREM) reconstruction algorithm in 68Ga-PSMA PET-CT studies.

In this study, we aimed to examine the effect of varying β-values in the block sequential regularized expectation maximization (BSREM) algorithm under differing lesion sizes to determine an optimal penalty factor for clinical application. The National Electrical Manufacturers Association phantom and 15 prostate cancer patients were injected with 68Ga-PSMA and scanned using a GE Discovery IQ PET/CT scanner. Images were reconstructed using ordered subset expectation maximization (OSEM) and BSREM with different β-values.

Impact of Region-of-Interest Delineation on Stability and Reproducibility of Liver SNR Measurements in Ga-PSMA PET/CT.

 This study aims to assess the impact of various regions of interest (ROIs) and volumes of interest (VOIs) delineations on the reproducibility of liver signal-to-noise-ratio (SNRliver) measurements, as well as to find the most reproducible way to estimate it in gallium-68 positron emission tomography ( Ga-PET) imaging. We also investigated the SNRliver-weight relationship for these ROIs and VOIs delineations.  A cohort of 40 patients (40 males; mean weight: 76.

Reference phantom selection in pediatric computed tomography using data from a large, multicenter registry.

Background: Radiation dose metrics vary by the calibration reference phantom used to report doses. By convention, 16-cm diameter cylindrical polymethyl-methacyrlate phantoms are used for head imaging and 32-cm diameter phantoms are used for body imaging in adults. Actual usage patterns in children remain under-documented.

Pre-procedural CT imaging aids neonatal PDA stenting for ductal-dependent pulmonary blood flow with reduction in overall procedural morbidity.

Patent ductus arteriosus stenting for ductal-dependent pulmonary blood flow is a technically challenging neonatal procedure to maintain a stable pulmonary circulation. Pre-procedural computed tomography imaging aids in outlining ductal origin, insertion, size, course and curvature. Computed tomography imaging may add value to procedural outcomes and reduce overall procedural morbidity in neonatal patent ductus arteriosus stenting.

Diagnostic reference levels and median doses for common clinical indications of CT: findings from an international registry.

Ob Jectives: The European Society of Radiology identified 10 common indications for computed tomography (CT) as part of the European Study on Clinical Diagnostic Reference Levels (DRLs, EUCLID), to help standardize radiation doses. The objective of this study is to generate DRLs and median doses for these indications using data from the UCSF CT International Dose Registry.

Methods: Standardized data on 3.

Identification of aspirated radiolucent foreign bodies in the pediatric airway using digital tomosynthesis: a multireader phantom study.

Foreign body aspiration is difficult to diagnose because many aspirated foreign bodies are low density or radiolucent. Digital radiographs (DR) are poor at detecting radiolucent foreign bodies. Digital tomosynthesis (DTS) has been shown to be ideally suited for applications where DR is insensitive and the increased dose from computed tomography (CT) is not justified.

Comparison of the Effectiveness of Single-Component and Multicomponent Interventions for Reducing Radiation Doses in Patients Undergoing Computed Tomography: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Computed tomography (CT) radiation doses vary across institutions and are often higher than needed.

Objective: To assess the effectiveness of 2 interventions to reduce radiation doses in patients undergoing CT.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This randomized clinical trial included 864 080 adults older than 18 years who underwent CT of the abdomen, chest, combined abdomen and chest, or head at 100 facilities in 6 countries from November 1, 2015, to September 21, 2017.

Construction of an Anthropomorphic Phantom for Use in Evaluating Pediatric Airway Digital Tomosynthesis Protocols.

Interpretation of radiolucent foreign bodies (FBs) is a common task charged to pediatric radiologists. The use of a motion compensated technique to decrease breathing motion on images would greatly decrease overall exposure to ionizing radiation and increase access to treatment yielding a great impact on clinical care. This study reports on the methodology and materials used to construct an in-house anthropomorphic phantom for investigating image quality in digital tomosynthesis protocols for volumetric imaging of the pediatric airway.

Optimizing Communication With Parents on Benefits and Radiation Risks in Pediatric Imaging.

Effective radiation risk communication is a core competency for radiology care providers and can prevent and resolve potential conflicts while helping achieve effective public health safeguards. The authors present a synopsis of the challenges to holding such dialogue and review published methods for strengthening and maintaining this discourse. Twelve strategies are discussed in this article that can help alleviate concerns about the iatrogenic risk associated with medical imaging using radiation exposure.

Implementation of a competency check-off in diagnostic fluoroscopy for radiology trainees: impact on reducing radiation for three common fluoroscopic exams in children.

Background: Fluoroscopy is an important tool for diagnosis in the pediatric population, but it carries the risk of radiation exposure. Because radiology resident education and experience in the use of fluoroscopy equipment in children vary, we implemented an intervention to standardize fluoroscopy training.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of implementing a fluoroscopy competency check-off for radiology resident trainees aimed at decreasing radiation exposure in three common pediatric fluoroscopic studies.

Characterization of atherosclerotic plaque: a contrast-detail study using multidetector and cone-beam computed tomography.

A Hindmarsh-Rose model perceptibility phantom containing inserts with various in vitro atherosclerotic plaque compositions was constructed and imaged on a clinical 64 slice multidetector (MDCT) system using 80 and 120 kVp settings and two other cone-beam (CBCT) systems at 80 kVp. Perceptibility of the simulated lipid-fibrotic plaque solutions in the images was evaluated by six observers. The effective doses of the protocols employed were estimated using phantom CTDI-vol measurements placed at identical settings.

On the use of molecular weight cutoff cassettes to measure dynamic relaxivity of novel gadolinium contrast agents: example using hyaluronic Acid polymer complexes in phosphate-buffered saline.

The aims of this study were to determine whether standard extracellular contrast agents of Gd(III) ions in combination with a polymeric entity susceptible to hydrolytic degradation over a finite period of time, such as Hyaluronic Acid (HA), have sufficient vascular residence time to obtain comparable vascular imaging to current conventional compounds and to obtain sufficient data to show proof of concept that HA with Gd-DTPA ligands could be useful as vascular imaging agents. We assessed the dynamic relaxivity of the HA bound DTPA compounds using a custom-made phantom, as well as relaxation rates at 10.72 MHz with concentrations ranging between 0.