High Resolution Protocol Optimization

Since the introduction of multi-slice computerized tomography (MS-CT), several authors have reported an increased exposure to radiation when using the manufacturer-specific protocols compared with the previous technique of single-slice computerized tomography (SS-CT). On the basis of comprehensive dose measurements conducted on a phantom, a study by S. M. Giacomuzzi et al reported that the mean dose in the abdominal and thoracic regions increased by a factor of 2.6 and in the petrous bone region by a factor of 1.5 when compared with SS-CT. A study by M. Cohen et al presented at the ECR 2000 in Vienna, Austria described a dose increase with the standard abdominal protocol by a factor of 1.6 and with the standard thoracic protocol by a factor of 4 in the CTDl value in MS-CT versus the prior application with SS-CT. The following article considers the possibilities of dose reduction through protocol optimization in combination with the detector design and the reconstruction algorithms realized in the Aquilion Multi 4-slice CT.