Breast shielding reduces radiation dose in children undergoing chest MDCT
Monday, 29 November 1999 19:00 | 
Breast shielding after obtaining the scout image can reduce the radiation dose to children undergoing multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) of the chest, according to a new report.
Breast shielding after obtaining the scout image can reduce the radiation dose to children undergoing multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) of the chest, according to a new report.
"Be mindful of radiation dose with CT, especially for sensitive organs such as breast tissue, even in young patients," Dr. Donald P. Frush from Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina told Reuters Health. "What we do now may provide lifelong risks."
Dr. Frush and associates used an anthropomorphic phantom representing a five-year-old child to determine the effect on radiation dose and image quality of using bismuth breast shields with z-axis automatic tube current modulation during pediatric chest MDCT. The findings are reported in the January issue of the American Journal of Radiology.
Simple addition of the bismuth breast shield reduced the measured average breast radiation dose by 26 per cent, the authors report. Doses measured at 14 locations under the shield declined by an average of 18.0 per cent (ranging from five per cent in the left lung to 35 per cent in the bone marrow of the spine).
Implementation of tube current modulation with the shield placed after the scout image resulted in measured radiation dose decreases averaging 37.5 per cent when compared with the fixed tube current scan with the breast shield, the report indicates.
Placement of the breast shield after the scout image increased image noise measurements, the researchers say, but the increased image noise was still close to the noise target level.
"This investigation partly helped to make breast shields commercially available for all radiologists," Dr. Frush said. This type of protective measure should be tested in other types of equipment, he added.
"Be mindful of radiation dose with CT, especially for sensitive organs such as breast tissue, even in young patients," Dr. Donald P. Frush from Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina told Reuters Health. "What we do now may provide lifelong risks."
Dr. Frush and associates used an anthropomorphic phantom representing a five-year-old child to determine the effect on radiation dose and image quality of using bismuth breast shields with z-axis automatic tube current modulation during pediatric chest MDCT. The findings are reported in the January issue of the American Journal of Radiology.
Simple addition of the bismuth breast shield reduced the measured average breast radiation dose by 26 per cent, the authors report. Doses measured at 14 locations under the shield declined by an average of 18.0 per cent (ranging from five per cent in the left lung to 35 per cent in the bone marrow of the spine).
Implementation of tube current modulation with the shield placed after the scout image resulted in measured radiation dose decreases averaging 37.5 per cent when compared with the fixed tube current scan with the breast shield, the report indicates.
Placement of the breast shield after the scout image increased image noise measurements, the researchers say, but the increased image noise was still close to the noise target level.
"This investigation partly helped to make breast shields commercially available for all radiologists," Dr. Frush said. This type of protective measure should be tested in other types of equipment, he added.
