Monte Carlo calculation of patient organ doses from computed tomography.

In this study, we aimed to evaluate quantitatively the patient organ dose from computed tomography (CT) using Monte Carlo calculations. A multidetector CT unit (Aquilion 16, TOSHIBA Medical Systems) was modeled with the GMctdospp (IMPS, Germany) software based on the EGSnrc Monte Carlo code. The X-ray spectrum and the configuration of the bowtie filter for the Monte Carlo modeling were determined from the chamber measurements for the half-value layer (HVL) of aluminum and the dose profile (off-center ratio, OCR) in air. The calculated HVL and OCR were compared with measured values for body irradiation with 120 kVp. The Monte Carlo-calculated patient dose distribution was converted to the absorbed dose measured by a Farmer chamber with a (60)Co calibration factor at the center of a CT water phantom. The patient dose was evaluated from dose-volume histograms for the internal organs in the pelvis. The calculated Al HVL was in agreement within 0.3% with the measured value of 5.2 mm. The calculated dose profile in air matched the measured value within 5% in a range of 15 cm from the central axis. The mean doses for soft tissues were 23.5, 23.8, and 27.9 mGy for the prostate, rectum, and bladder, respectively, under exposure conditions of 120 kVp, 200 mA, a beam pitch of 0.938, and beam collimation of 32 mm. For bones of the femur and pelvis, the mean doses were 56.1 and 63.6 mGy, respectively. The doses for bone increased by up to 2-3 times that of soft tissue, corresponding to the ratio of their mass-energy absorption coefficients.