• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.535-541
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• 2016

This study aimed to identify dose reduction measures by retrospectively analyzing the entrance surface dose at computed tomography and angiography in cardiovascular examination and to contribute the patients with renal impairmend and a high probability of side effects to determine the inspection's direction by measuring the contrast usages actually to active actions for the dose by actually measuring the contrast medium dose. The CTDIvol value and air kerma value, which are the entrance surface doses of the two examinations, and the contrast medium dose depending on the number of slides were compared and analyzed. This study was conducted in 21 subjects (11 males; 10 females) who underwent Cardiac Computed Tomographic Angiography (CCTA) and Coronary Angiography (CAG) in this hospital during the period from May 2014 to May 2016. The subject's age was 48~85 years old (mean $65{\pm}10$ years old), and the weight was 37.6~83.3 kg (mean $63{\pm}6kg$). Dose reduction could be expected in the cardiovascular examination using CCTA rather than in the examination using CAG. In terms of contrast medium dose, CAG used a smaller dose than CCTA. In particular, as the number of slides increases at CAG, the contrast medium dose increases. Therefore, in order to reduce the contrast medium dose, the number of slides suitable for the scan range must be selected.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.241-248
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• 2005

X-ray examinations represent the largest man-made source of radiation exposure for the population. The need for standardization of radiation exposures has been suggested and the guidance levels for various radiographic and radioisotope examinations has been proposed by the International Atomic Energy Aency(IAEA) as a safety standard. In many countries, the situation of medical radiographic exposures in each country should be researched before the appropriate guidance level is established. In this study, measurements of entrance surface dose, dose-area product(DAP), computed tomograghic dose index(CTDI) and mean glandular dose(MGD) were carried out in patients who underwent routine x-ray examinations, fluoroscopy, computed tomograghy and mamography in Korea. These measured quantities were compared with the results from the calculation method in previous study. And we suggested diagnostic reference levels in medical imaging in Korea.

• Journal of radiological science and technology
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.101-107
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• 2021

The purpose of this study was to evaluate optimal CT scan parameters to minimize patient dose to the irradiation and maintain satisfactory image quality in low-dose chest computed tomography (CT) scans. In a chest anthropomorphic phantom, chest CT scans were performed at different kVp and mA within reference of 3.4mGy in volume CT Dose Index (CTDI_vol). The following quantitative parameters had been statistically evaluated: image noise, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), and figure of merit (FOM). Nine radiographers conducted the blind test to select the optimal kVp-mA combination. Results indicated that the kVp-mA combination of 80kVp-90mA, 100kVp-50mA, 120kVp-30mA and 140kVp-30mA were obtained high SNR and CNR. The 120kVp-30mA combination offered good compromise in the FOM, which showed the quality and dose performance. In the blind test, an image of 80kVp-90mA obtained a high score with 4.7 points, and 120kVp-10mA or 140kVp-10mA with a low tube current were observed severe noise and poor image quality, thus resulting in decreased diagnostic accuracy. On the other hand, in the combination of high kVp and high mA(140kVp-90mA), the image quality was improved, but the radiation dose was also increased. the FOM value of 140kVp-90mA was lower than 120kVp-30mA. The application of appropriate scan parameters in low-dose chest CT scans produced satisfactory results in dose and image quality for the accuracy of the clinical diagnosis.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.473-479
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• 2019

PET-CT improves performance and reduces the time by combining PET and CT of spatial resolution, and uses CT scan for attenuation correction. This study analyzed PET image evaluation. The condition of the tube voltage and current of CT will be changed using. Uniformity phantom and resolution phantom were injected with 37 MBq $^{18}F$ (fluorine ; 511 keV, half life - 109.7 min), respectively. PET-CT (Biograph, siemens, US) was used to perform emission scan (30 min) and penetration scan. And then the collected image data were reconstructed in OSEM-3D. The same ROI was set on the image data with a analyzer (Vinci 2.54, Germany) and profile was used to analyze and compare spatial resolution and image quality through FWHM and SI. Analyzing profile with pre-defined ROI in each phantom, PET image was not influenced by the change of tube voltage or exposure dose. However, CT image was influenced by tube voltage, but not by exposure dose. When tube voltage was fixed and exposure dose changed, exposure dose changed too, increasing dose value. When exposure dose was fixed at 150 mA and tube voltage was varied, the result was 10.56, 24.6 and 35.61 mGy in each variables (in resolution phantom). In this study, attenuation image showed no significant difference when exposure dose was changed. However, when exposure dose increased, the amount of dose that patient absorbed increased too, which indicates that CT exposure dose should be decreased to minimum to lower the exposure dose that patient absorbs. Therefore future study needs to discuss the conditions that could minimize exposure dose that gets absorbed by patient during PET-CT scan.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.55-62
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• 2015

Purpose Various methods for reducing radiation exposure have been continuously being developed. The aim of this study is to evaluate effectiveness of dose reduction, image quality and PET SUV changes by applying combination of automatic exposure dose(AEC), automated dose-optimized selection of X-ray tube voltage(CAREkV) and sinogram affirmed iterative reconstruction(SAFIRE) which can be controled by user. Materials and Methods Torso, AAPM CT performance and IEC body phantom images were acquired using biograph mCT64, (Siemens, Germany) PET/CT scanner. Standard CT condition was 120 kV, 40 mAs. Radiation exposure and noise were evaluated by applying AEC, CAREkV(120 kV, 40 mAs) and SAFIRE(120 kV, 25 mAs) with torso phantom compare to standard CT condition. And torso, AAPM and IEC phantom images were acquired with combination of 3 methods in condition of 120 kV, 25 mAs to evaluate radiation exposure, noise, spatial resolution and SUV changes. Results When applying AEC, CTDIvol and DLP were decreased by 50.52% and 50.62% compare to images which is not applying AEC. mAs was increased by 61.5% to compensate image quality according to decreasing 20 kV when applying CAREkV. However, CTDIvol and DLP were decreased by 6.2% and 5.5%. When reference mAs was the lower and strength was the higher, reduction of radiation exposure rate was the bigger. Mean SD and DLP were decreased by 2.2% and 38% when applying SAFIRE even though mAs was decreased by 37.5%(from 40 mAs to 25 mAs). Combination of 3 methods test, SD decreased by 5.17% and there was no significant differences in spatial resolution. And mean SD and DLP were decreased by 6.7% and 36.9% compare to 120 kV, 40 mAs with AEC. For SUV test, there was no statistical differences(P>0.05). Conclusion Combination of 3 methods shows dose reduction effect without degrading image quality and SUV changes. To reduce radiation exposure in PET/CT study, continuous effort is needed by optimizing various dose reduction methods.

• The Korean Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.33-38
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• 2014

Purpose Auto exposure control (AEC) in SPECT/CT automatically controls the exposure dose (mA) according to patient's shape and size. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of AEC in SPECT/CT on exposure dose reduction and image quality. Materials and Methods The model of SPECT/CT used in this study was Discovery 670 (GE, USA), Smart mA for AEC; and $^{99m}Tc$ as a radioisotope. To compare SPECT and CT images by CT exposure dose variation, we used a standard technique set at 80, 100, 120, 140 kVp, 10, 30, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250 mA, and AEC at 80, 100, 120, 140 kVp, 10-250 mA. To evaluate resolution and contrast of SPECT images, triple line phantom and flangeless Esser PET phantom were used. For CT images, noise and uniformity were checked by anthropomrphic chest phantom. For dose evaluation to find DLP value, anthropomorphic chest phantom was used and the CT protocol of torso was applied by standard technique (120 kVp, 100 mA) and AEC (120 kVp, 10-250 mA). Results When standard and AEC were applied, the resolutions at SPECT images with attenuation correction (AC) were the same as FWHM by center 3.65 mm, left 3.48 mm, right 3.61 mm. Contrasts of standard and AEC showed no significant difference: standard 53.5, 29.8, 22.5, 15.8, 6.0, AEC 53.5, 29.6, 22.4, 15.7, 6.1 In CT images, noise values at standard and AEC were 15.4 and 18.5 respectively. The application of AEC increases noise but the value of coefficient variation were 33.8, 24.9 respectively, obtaining uniform noise image. The values of DLP at standard and AEC were 426.78 and 352.09 each, which shows that the application of AEC decreases exposure dose more than standard by approximately 18%. Conclusion The results of our study show that there was no difference of AC in SPECT images based on the CT exposure dose variation at SPECT/CT images. It was found that the increased CT exposure dose leads to the improvement of CT image quality but also increases the exposure dose. Thus, the use of AEC in SPECT/CT contributes to obtaining equal AC SPECT images, and uniform noise in CT images while reducing exposure dose.

• The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.1-11
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• 2015

Purpose : Evaluating absorbed dose related to 2D and 3D imaging confirmation devices Materials and Methods : According to the radiographic projection conditions, absorbed doses are measured that 3 glass dosimeters attached to the centers of 0', 90', 180' and 270' in the head, thorax and abdomen each with Rando phantom are used in field size $26.6{\times}20$, $15{\times}15$. In the same way, absorbed doses are measured for width 16cm and 10cm of CBCT each. OBI(version 1.5) system and calibrated glass dosimeters are used for the measurement. Results : AP projection for 2D imaging check, In $0^{\circ}$ degree absorbed doses measured in the head were $1.44{\pm}0.26mGy$ with the field size $26.6{\times}20$, $1.17{\pm}0.02mGy$ with the field size $15{\times}15$. With the same method, absorbed doses in the thorax were $3.08{\pm}0.86mGy$ to $0.57{\pm}0.02mGy$ by reducing field size. In the abdomen, absorbed dose were reduced $8.19{\pm}0.54mGy$ to $4.19{\pm}0.09mGy$. Finally according to the field size, absorbed doses has decreased by average 5~12%. With Lateral projection, absorbed doses showed average 5~8% decrease. CBCT for 3D imaging check, CBDI in the head were $4.39{\pm}0.11mGy$ to $3.99{\pm}0.13mGy$ by reducing the width 16cm to 10cm. In the same way in thorax the absorbed dose were reduced $34.88{\pm}0.93(10.48{\pm}0.09)mGy$ to $31.01{\pm}0.3(9.30{\pm}0.09)mGy$ and $35.99{\pm}1.86mGy$ to $32.27{\pm}1.35mGy$ in the abdomen. With variation of width 16cm and 10cm, they showed 8~11% decrease. Conclusion : By means of reducing 2D field size, absorbed dose were decreased average 5~12% in 3D width size 8~11%. So that it is necessary for radiation therapists to recognize systematical management for absorbed dose for Imaging confirmation. and also for frequent CBCT, it is considered whether or not prescribed dose for RT refer to imaging dose.

• Progress in Medical Physics
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.35-40
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• 2013

Recently, the uses of Multi-Detector Computed Tomography (MDCT) for radiation treatment simulation and planning which is used for intensity modulated radiation therapy with high technique are increasing. Because of the increasing uses of MDCT, additional doses are also increasing. The objective of this study is to evaluate the absorbed dose of body and skin undergoing in MDCT scans. In this study, the exposed dose at the surface and the center of the cylindrical water phantom was measured using an pencil ionization chamber, 30 cc ionization chamber and TL Powder. The results of MDCT were 31.84 mGy, 33.58 mGy and 32.73 mGy respectively. The absorbed dose at the surface showed that the TL reading value was 33.92 mGy from MDCT. These results showed that the surface dose was about 3.5% from the MDCT exposure higher than a dose which is located at the center of the phantom. These results mean that the total exposed dose undergoing MDCT 4 times (diagnostic, radiation therapy planning, follow-up et al.), is about 14 cGy, and have to be considered significantly to reduce the exposed dose from CT scan.