Dose assessment of digital tomosynthesis in pediatric imaging

Amber Gislason; Idris A. Elbakri; Martin Reed

doi:10.1117/12.813717

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13 March 2009 Dose assessment of digital tomosynthesis in pediatric imaging

Amber Gislason, Idris A. Elbakri, Martin Reed

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Proceedings Volume 7258, Medical Imaging 2009: Physics of Medical Imaging; 72585V (2009) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.813717
Event: SPIE Medical Imaging, 2009, Lake Buena Vista (Orlando Area), Florida, United States

Abstract

We investigated the potential for digital tomosynthesis (DT) to reduce pediatric x-ray dose while maintaining image quality. We utilized the DT feature (VolumeRad^TM) on the GE Definium^TM 8000 flat panel system installed in the Winnipeg Children's Hospital. Facial bones, cervical spine, thoracic spine, and knee of children aged 5, 10, and 15 years were represented by acrylic phantoms for DT dose measurements. Effective dose was estimated for DT and for corresponding digital radiography (DR) and computed tomography (CT) patient image sets. Anthropomorphic phantoms of selected body parts were imaged by DR, DT, and CT. Pediatric radiologists rated visualization of selected anatomic features in these images. Dose and image quality comparisons between DR, DT, and CT determined the usefulness of tomosynthesis for pediatric imaging. CT effective dose was highest; total DR effective dose was not always lowest - depending how many projections were in the DR image set. For the cervical spine, DT dose was close to and occasionally lower than DR dose. Expert radiologists rated visibility of the central facial complex in a skull phantom as better than DR and comparable to CT. Digital tomosynthesis has a significantly lower dose than CT. This study has demonstrated DT shows promise to replace CT for some facial bones and spinal diagnoses. Other clinical applications will be evaluated in the future.

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Amber Gislason, Idris A. Elbakri, and Martin Reed "Dose assessment of digital tomosynthesis in pediatric imaging", Proc. SPIE 7258, Medical Imaging 2009: Physics of Medical Imaging, 72585V (13 March 2009); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.813717

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