Ultra-low-dose emergency chest computed tomography protocols in three vendors: A technical note
Bo Redder Mussmann, Peter Marshall Skov, Morten Hjarnø Lorentzen, Helene Skjøt‐Arkil, Ole Graumann, Michael Brun Andersen, Janni Jensen
Abstract
Background: In suspected community-acquired pneumonia (CAP), chest CT is superior to the routinely obtained radiographs (CXR), but administers higher radiation doses. However, ultra-low-dose CT (ULDCT) has shown promising results. Purpose: To compare radiation dose and image quality using standard and ULDCT protocols designed for a multicenter study encompassing three CT scanner models from GE, Canon, and Siemens. Material and methods: Patients with suspected CAP were referred for non-contrast standard dose chest CT (NCCT) and ULDCT. Effective radiation dose and Contrast-to-Noise Ratio (CNR) was calculated. Results: = 10) 2.85 mSv in NCCT and 0.45 mSv in ULDCT. CNR was reduced by 29-39% in ULDCT. Conclusion: The proposed CT protocols yielded dose reductions of 96%, 68%, and 84% using a GE, Canon, and Siemens scanner, respectively.