Evaluation of patient dose and operator dose in swallowing CT studies performed with a 320-detector-row multislice CT scanner.

Recently, attempts to develop new types of swallowing function analysis with 320-detector-row multislice CT (320-MDCT) have been reported. The present report addresses (1) patient exposure, (2) operator exposure, and (3) spatial dose distribution. For dose measurement, a human-body phantom in which 303 thermoluminescent dosimeter elements were inserted and a survey meter was used. The patient position was confirmed with a single-volume scan at a tube voltage of 120 kV, a tube current of 10 mA, a rotation speed of 0.35 s/rot., a slice thickness of 0.5 mm, coverage of 160 mm, a scan field of view of 240 mm, a small focal spot size, and a gantry tilt angle of 22° (volume CT dose index displayed on the console 0.8 mGy, dose-length product 12.1 mGy cm). The effective dose for the patient in swallowing CT (SCT) was 3.9 mSv. The conversion factor for obtaining the effective dose was 0.0066 mSv/mGy cm. The effective dose for the operator was 0.002 mSv. In the operator exposure measurement, the ambient dose equivalent H*(10), that would be produced by an expanded and aligned radiation field at a depth 10 mm in the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements sphere, was 0.012 mSv. In this report, the safety of SCT, which has become possible with the introduction of 320-MDCT, was evaluated by measurement of the exposure to the patient and operator.