Background/Introduction
Computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) is a non-invasive tool with a high diagnostic accuracy for detection of coronary arterial stenosis.
Because of its effectiveness,
it has become widely used in cardiac imaging,
both in acute and chronic settings.
This large-scale use of CTCA has raised the question of radiation dose.
The exposure to radiation is widely dependent on the different scanning parameters employed.
Most of these are controlled and monitored by the imaging techniciansuch as tube voltage and current,
scan range,
scanner geometry,
prospective or...
Description of activity and work performed
Our aim was to assess patients’ radiation doses during CTCA examinations performed in our institution,
comparing two of the scanning protocols used,
Step-And-Shoot (SAS) versus the FLASH protocol.
From January 2015 to November 2016,
patients who were referred to our institution for clinically indicated CTCA were anonymized and 100 patients,
50 for each of the protocols,
were randomly selected for this retrospective study.
The data was collected using the institution’s electronic medical database.
Demographics
Value SAS
Value FLASH
Age (years)
53
44
min / max...
Conclusion and Recommendations
Compared with studies reporting on CTCA with standard axial “step and shoot” technique,
the prospective high pitch mode technique enables another dose reduction of approximately 40 to 50 %.
Most studies discussing prospectively EKG-gated CT coronary angiography have shown radiation doses of 1.2 - 4.3mSv,
depending on the scanner type and kilovoltage setting used.
In our case,
using the SAS protocol the mean dose was 6.33mSv,
with most cases raging between 3.4 and 5.1mSv,
while the FLASH protocols lead to amean dose of 2.55 mSV...
Personal/Organisational information
C.A.
Minoiu,
Bucharest Emergency Clinical Hospital,
Bucharest,
Romania; Hospital Clinic Barcelona,
Barcelona,
Spain
T.M.
de Caralt,
Hospital Clinic Barcelona,
Barcelona,
Spain
S.
Prat Gonzalez,
Hospital Clinic Barcelona,
Barcelona,
Spain
C.
Brenes,
Hospital Clinic Barcelona,
Barcelona,
Spain
E.
Jorcano,
Hospital Clinic Barcelona,
Barcelona,
Spain
M.
Beneges,
Hospital Clinic Barcelona,
Barcelona,
Spain
D.
Flores Villareal,
Hospital Clinic Barcelona,
Barcelona,
Spain
J.
Moreno,
Hospital Clinic Barcelona,
Barcelona,
Spain
R.J.
Perea Palazon,
Hospital Clinic Barcelona,
Barcelona,
Spain
References
1.
Kröpil et al.
J Thorac Imaging.
Author manuscript; available in PMC 2013 May 01.
2.Sommer WH,
Schenzle JC,
Becker CR,
et al.
Saving dose in triple-rule-out computed tomography examination using a high-pitch dual spiral technique.
Invest Radiol 2010;45:64-71.
3.
Stolzmann P et al.
Dual-source CT in step-and-shoot mode: non-invasive coronary angiography with low radiation dose.
Radiology.
2008; 249:71–80.
4.
Earls JP et al.
Prospectively gated transverse coronary CT angiography versus retrospectively gated helical technique: improved image quality and reduced radiation dose.
Radiology.
2008; 246:742–753....
