Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A comparative study on the CT effective dose for various positions of the patient’s arm

  • Research Papers
  • Published:
Journal of the Korean Physical Society Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In a whole body PET/CT (positron emission tomography/computed tomography) scan, lifting the patient’s arm to improve the image quality is natural. On the other hand, the arms should be placed lower when the lesion is located in the head and neck. This study compared the CT effective dose for each arm position after applying AEC (automatic exposure control). Forty-five patients who had undergone an 18F-FDG (fluorine-18-fluoro deoxy glucose) whole body PET/CT scan were examined using Biograph Truepoint 40, Biograph Sensation 16, and Discovery STe 8 systems. The CT effective dose of 15 patients for each set of equipment was measured and analyzed comparatively in both the arm-lifted and arm-lowered positions. The ImPACT Ver. 1.0 program was used to measure the CT effective dose. A paired t-test (SPSS 18.0 statistic program) was applied for statistical analysis. In the case of the arm-lifted position, the CT effective dose measured for Biograph 40, Biograph 16, and DSTe 8 systems were 6.33 ± 0.93 mSv, 8.01 ± 1.34 mSv, and 9.69 ± 2.32 mSv, respectively. When the arms were located in the lower position, the respective CT effective doses were 6.97 ± 0.76 mSv, 8.95 ± 1.85 mSv, and 13.07 ± 2.87 mSv, respectively. These results revealed 9.2%, 10.5%, and 25.9% improvement in the CT effective doses for the Biograph 40, Biograph 16 and DSTe 8 systems, respectively, when the arms were raised compared to that when they were lowered (p < 0.05). For the whole body PET/CT case, the CT effective dose applying AEC showed a mean 15.2% decrease in the radiation exposure of the patients when the arm was lifted. The patient with no lesion in the head and neck would show fewer artifacts in the objective part and a lower CT effective dose. For a patient with a lesion in the head and neck, the artifacts in the objective part can be reduced by putting the arms down. The fact that the CT effective dose is increased in a whole-body PET/CT scan should be a concern.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. D. W. Townsend and T. Beyer, Brit. J. Radiol. 75, 24 (2002).

    Google Scholar 

  2. T. Beyer, D. W. Townsend, T. Burn, P. E. Kinahan, M. Charron, R. Roddy, J. Jerin, J. Young, L. Byars and R. A. Nutt, J. Nucl. Med. 41, 1369 (2000).

    Google Scholar 

  3. P. Dawson, Brit. J. Radiol. 77, 10 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. S. J. Yates, L. C. Pike and K. E. Goldstone, Brit. J. Radiol. 77, 472 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. G. R. Iball, D. S. Brettle and A. C. Moore, Brit. J. Radiol. 79, 62 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. S. Rizzo, M. Kalra, B. Schmidt, T. Dalal, C. Suess, T. Flohr, M. Blake and S. Saini, Am. J. Roentgenol. 186, 673 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. C. H. McCollough, Radiology 237, 755 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. T. J. Beyer, Nucl. Med. 45, 29 (2004).

    Google Scholar 

  9. D. Delbeke et al., Nucl. Med. 47, 885 (2006).

    Google Scholar 

  10. C. H. McCollough, M. R. Bruesewitx and J. M. Kofler, RadioGraphics 26, 503 (2006).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. L. M. Hamberg, J. T. Rhea, G. J. Hunter and J. H. Thrall, Radiology 226, 762 (2003).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. M. F. McNitt-Gray, RadioGraphics 22, 1541 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. European Commission, Report EUR 16262, Quality Criteria for Computed Tomography, 1999.

  14. International Electrotechnical Commission, IEC 60601- 2-44, Medical Electrical Equipment. Part 2-44: Particular Requirements for the Safety of X-ray Equipment for Computed Tomography, 2002.

  15. European Commission, EUR 16262, European Guidelines on Quality Criteria for Computed Tomography, 2000.

  16. M. K. Kalra, S. M. Rizzo and R. A. Novelline, Emerg. Radiol. 11, 267 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. M. K. Kalra, M. M. Maher, T. L. Toth, B. Schmidt, B. L. Westerman, H. T. Morgan and S. Saini, Radiology 233, 649 (2004).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. M. K. Kalra, N. Naz, S. M. Rizzo and M. A. Blake, Curr. Probl. Diagn. Radiol. 34, 171 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. N. Keat, MHRA evaluation report 0516, CT scanner Automatic Exposure Control Systems, 2005.

  20. M. Soderberg and M. Gunnarsson, Acta. Radiol. 6, 625 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. C. H. McCollough, Radiology. 237, 755 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. M. K. Kalra, S. M. Rizzo and R. A. Novelline, Emerg. Radiol. 11, 267 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. L. W. Goldman, J. Nucl. Med. Technol. 35, 213 (2007).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. M. Lewis, N. Keat and S. Edyvean, NHS Report No 06013, 32 to 64 Slice CT Scanner Comparison Report Version 14, 2006.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Nuclear Medicine, ASAN Medical Center, Seoul, 138-736, Korea

    Ji-Hye Seong, Soon-Ki Park, Jung-Sun Kim, Woo-Young Jung & Ho-Sung Kim

  2. Department of Nuclear Engineering, Chosun University, Gwangju, 501-759, Korea

    Ho-Sung Kim, Kyung-Rae Dong & Woon-Kwan Chung

  3. Department of Radiological Technology, Gwangju Health College University, Gwangju, 501-701, Korea

    Kyung-Rae Dong

  4. Department of International Radiological Science, Hallym University of Graduate Studies, Seoul, 135-841, Korea

    Jae-Hwan Cho

  5. Department of Clinical Laboratory Science, Seoyeong University, Gwangju, 500-742, Korea

    Young-Kuk Cho

Authors
  1. Ji-Hye Seong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Soon-Ki Park
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jung-Sun Kim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Woo-Young Jung
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Ho-Sung Kim
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Kyung-Rae Dong
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Woon-Kwan Chung
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Jae-Hwan Cho
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Young-Kuk Cho
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Woon-Kwan Chung.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Seong, JH., Park, SK., Kim, JS. et al. A comparative study on the CT effective dose for various positions of the patient’s arm. Journal of the Korean Physical Society 61, 1137–1142 (2012). https://doi.org/10.3938/jkps.61.1137

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3938/jkps.61.1137

Keywords

Search

Navigation