• 대한방사선기술학회지:방사선기술과학
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• 제44권1호
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• pp.53-58
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• 2021

Kerma Area Product (KAP) is best indicator of radiation monitoring on radiographic examinations. KAP can be measured differently depending on the X-ray irradiation area, air kerma, souce-skin distance, type of equipment, etc. The major factors are exposure area and the air krema. The KAP currently used only considers the exposure area with X-rays and has a problem that KAP is always excessively overestimated from the dose received by an actual subject. Therefore, in this study, in order to measure the accurate KAP, a new area dose calculation that can be calculated by dividing the area where the actual X-ray is irradiated is presented, and the KAP is the real area. We compared and analyzed how much it was overestimated compared to the dose. The Skull AP projection and seven other projection were compared and analyzed, and the KAP was overestimated in each test by 52% to 60%. In this way, the effective KAP (EKAP) calculation developed through this study should be utilized to prevent extra calculation of the existing KAP, and only the accurate patient subject area should be calculated to derive the accurate area dose value. EKAP is helpful for control the patient's exposure dose more finely, and it is useful for the quality control of medical radiation exposure.

• 대한방사선기술학회지:방사선기술과학
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• 제46권6호
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• pp.501-508
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• 2023

This study used a adult absorption dose phantom (CIRS model 701-G, USA) made of human equivalent material and the vascular imaging equipment Allura Xper FD 20 (Philips, Netherlands). Optically stimulated luminescent dosimeters (OSLD) were inserted into the anatomical positions corresponding to each organ, and the exposure dose was measured. Dose area product (DAP) and air kerma (AK) measured by the dose meter in the equipment were compared. Continuous imaging was performed at two angles for a total of 20 minutes, with a frame per seconds of 3.75 and 7.5 fps and an FOV of 42 cm, 37 cm, and 31 cm, respectively, under the conditions of fluoflavor I, II, and III, each selected for 5 repetitions. This study was found that selecting a lower fps was the most effective way to reduce patient exposure dose, and adjusting the fluoflavor was a good alternative method for reducing patient exposure dose at high fps. Therefore the method of condition change with the greatest dose reduction effect is to set the minimum FPS and can reduce patient exposure dose according to geometric conditions and fluoflavor characteristics.

• 대한방사선기술학회지:방사선기술과학
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• 제46권6호
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• pp.509-517
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• 2023

This study analyzed imaging conditions and exposure index through clinical information collection and dose calculation programs in coronary angiography examinations. Through this, we aim to analyze the effective dose according to examination conditions and provide basic data for dose optimization. In this study, ALARA(As Low As Reasonably Achievable)-F(Fluoroscopy), a program for evaluating the radiation dose of patients and the collected clinical data, was used. First, analysis of imaging conditions and exposure index was performed based on the data of the dose report generated after coronary angiography. Second, after evaluating organ dose according to 9 imaging directions during coronary angiography, with the LAO fixed at 30°, dose evaluation was performed according to tube voltage, tube current, number of frames, focus-skin distance, and field size. Third, the effective dose for each organ was calculated according to the tissue weighting factors presented in ICRP(International Commission on Radiological Protection) recommendations. As a result, the average sum of air kerma during coronary angiography was evaluated as 234.0±112.1 mGy, the dose-area product was 25.9±13.0 Gy·cm², and the total fluoroscopy time was 2.5±2.0 min. Also, the organ dose tended to increase as the tube voltage, milliampere-second, number of frames, and irradiation range increased, whereas the organ dose decreased as the FSD increased. Therefore, medical radiation exposure to patients can be reduced by selecting the optimal tube voltage and field size during coronary angiography, maximizing the focal-skin distance, using the lowest tube current possible, and reducing the number of frames.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• 제24권7호
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• pp.681-689
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• 2023

Objective: Three-dimensional rotational angiography (3D-RA) is increasingly used for the evaluation of intracranial aneurysms (IAs); however, radiation exposure to the lens is a concern. We investigated the effect of head off-centering by adjusting table height on the lens dose during 3D-RA and its feasibility in patient examination. Materials and Methods: The effect of head off-centering during 3D-RA on the lens radiation dose at various table heights was investigated using a RANDO head phantom (Alderson Research Labs). We prospectively enrolled 20 patients (58.0 ± 9.4 years) with IAs who were scheduled to undergo bilateral 3D-RA. In all patients' 3D-RA, the lens dose-reduction protocol involving elevation of the examination table was applied to one internal carotid artery, and the conventional protocol was applied to the other. The lens dose was measured using photoluminescent glass dosimeters (GD-352M, AGC Techno Glass Co., LTD), and radiation dose metrics were compared between the two protocols. Image quality was quantitatively analyzed using source images for image noise, signal-to-noise ratio, and contrast-to-noise ratio. Additionally, three reviewers qualitatively assessed the image quality using a five-point Likert scale. Results: The phantom study showed that the lens dose was reduced by an average of 38% per 1 cm increase in table height. In the patient study, the dose-reduction protocol (elevating the table height by an average of 2.3 cm) led to an 83% reduction in the median dose from 4.65 mGy to 0.79 mGy (P < 0.001). There were no significant differences between dose-reduction and conventional protocols in the kerma area product (7.34 vs. 7.40 Gy·cm², P = 0.892), air kerma (75.7 vs. 75.1 mGy, P = 0.872), and image quality. Conclusion: The lens radiation dose was significantly affected by table height adjustment during 3D-RA. Intentional head off-centering by elevation of the table is a simple and effective way to reduce the lens dose in clinical practice.