Dear CT Insider,
Establishing diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) and comparing them with local ones is an important tool for optimizing radiation dose, but this is always a difficult task in CT due to the large variety of protocols, according to researchers from Madrid.
The group has reported that using indication-based DRLs has proved to be more useful than description-based DRLs. Their approach to dose optimization includes creating a multidisciplinary committee, and it is producing impressive results. Get the full story in today's top article.
Shielding may have some unintended effects on patient dose in CT, according to medical physicists in Turku, Finland. Applying an out-of-plane shield outside the scanned volume but visible in the localizer images may increase the patient dose considerably if the scanner's tube current modulation function is based only on localizer images. Don't miss our news report.
Munich's Oktoberfest is known to be a rowdy event. It began last weekend and is likely to attract around 390,000 visitors a day over the next 17 days. The festival poses serious challenges for medical staff due to the high incidence of injuries and intoxication, but mobile CT is easing the situation.
Meanwhile, Danish authors have reported that CT angiography-derived fractional flow reserve imaging helps clinicians assess stable angina patients' adverse outcome risk, even if they have high coronary artery calcium scores. You can learn more here.
In a recent interview article, Dr. Stephen Harden, vice-president for clinical radiology at the Royal College of Radiologists, said the most exciting project he's ever been involved in was when he led a U.K.-wide prospective audit of radiation dose data in cardiac CT. He recalls how the study brought the cardiac CT community together around radiation dose optimization to improve service quality and patient care.
The stories featured in this newsletter are just a sample of the material we've posted during the last month or so in the CT Community. See the full list below for all our recent coverage. Also, please contact me at any time if you have ideas for the future.
