Estimation of Radiation Dose to Adult Patients During Multi-Slice CT Examinations

Abstract

CT is an important diagnostic tool in modern healthcare; however, CT is a high radiation exposure modality compared to conventional X ray devices. This study was carried out to estimate radiation dose to adult patient who underwent multi-slice CT examinations in three hospitals (Ribat University, Doctors Clinic and Dar al-elaj Specialist hospital) in Khartoum State, Sudan. CT scanners used in the study were: Neusoft 64 and 128 slice and Philips 64 slice. Data collected included equipment information and scan parameters for individual patients were used to assess doses for 270 adult patients underwent Brain, PNS, chest, chest-abd, abdomen pelvis KUB and CTU CT examinations. The CTDIvol, DLP and patient effective dose were estimated, using scan parameters and CT Exp version2.5 software. The mean DLP in this study for the Brian, PNS, Chest, Chest-Abd, Abd-Pelvis, KUB and CTU were: 1122.8, 404.5, 454.3, 661.7, 524.6, 649.0, and 560.8 mGy.cm respectively. The effective doses values for: Brian, PNS, Chest, Chest- Abd, Abd-Pelvis, KUB and CTU, were: 5.96, 1.01, 6.10, 9.23, 6.50, 7.21, and 6.77 mSv; respectively. Some dose variations were observed for similar CT examinations mainly originated from different CT scanning protocols used in different hospitals and scan length. Current results are important for providing patient exposure data for optimization and derivation of national DRLs.