Dose and diagnostic image quality in digital tomosynthesis imaging of facial bones in pediatrics

J. M. King; S. Hickling; I. A. Elbakri; M. Reed; J. Wrogemann

doi:10.1117/12.877729

16 March 2011 Dose and diagnostic image quality in digital tomosynthesis imaging of facial bones in pediatrics

J. M. King, S. Hickling, I. A. Elbakri, M. Reed, J. Wrogemann

Proceedings Volume 7961, Medical Imaging 2011: Physics of Medical Imaging; 79611B (2011) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.877729
Event: SPIE Medical Imaging, 2011, Lake Buena Vista (Orlando), Florida, United States

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of digital tomosynthesis (DT) for pediatric facial bone imaging. We compared the eye lens dose and diagnostic image quality of DT facial bone exams relative to digital radiography (DR) and computed tomography (CT), and investigated whether we could modify our current DT imaging protocol to reduce patient dose while maintaining sufficient diagnostic image quality. We measured the dose to the eye lens for all three modalities using high-sensitivity thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLDs) and an anthropomorphic skull phantom. To assess the diagnostic image quality of DT compared to the corresponding DR and CT images, we performed an observer study where the visibility of anatomical structures in the DT phantom images were rated on a four-point scale. We then acquired DT images at lower doses and had radiologists indicate whether the visibility of each structure was adequate for diagnostic purposes. For typical facial bone exams, we measured eye lens doses of 0.1-0.4 mGy for DR, 0.3-3.7 mGy for DT, and 26 mGy for CT. In general, facial bone structures were visualized better with DT then DR, and the majority of structures were visualized well enough to avoid the need for CT. DT imaging provides high quality diagnostic images of the facial bones while delivering significantly lower doses to the lens of the eye compared to CT. In addition, we found that by adjusting the imaging parameters, the DT effective dose can be reduced by up to 50% while maintaining sufficient image quality.

Citation Download Citation

J. M. King, S. Hickling, I. A. Elbakri, M. Reed, and J. Wrogemann "Dose and diagnostic image quality in digital tomosynthesis imaging of facial bones in pediatrics", Proc. SPIE 7961, Medical Imaging 2011: Physics of Medical Imaging, 79611B (16 March 2011); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.877729

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