EXPERIMENTAL EXAMINATION OF RADIATION DOSES OF DUAL- AND SINGLE-ENERGY COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY IN CHEST AND UPPER ABDOMEN IN A PHANTOM STUDY

Abstract

The aim of this phantom study is to examine radiation doses of dual- and single-energy computed tomography (DECT and SECT) in the chest and upper abdomen for three different multi-slice CT scanners. A total of 34 CT protocols were examined with the phantom N1 LUNGMAN. Four different CT examination types of different anatomic regions were performed both in single- and dual-energy technique: chest, aorta, pulmonary arteries for suspected pulmonary embolism and liver. Radiation doses were examined for the CT dose index CTDIvol and dose-length product (DLP). Radiation doses of DECT were significantly higher than doses for SECT. In terms of CTDIvol, radiation doses were 1.1-3.2 times higher, and in terms of DLP, these were 1.1-3.8 times higher for DECT compared with SECT. The third-generation dual-source CT applied the lowest dose in 7 of 15 different examination types of different anatomic regions.