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Special Review |
1 From the Department of Radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, White 270-E, 55 Fruit St, Boston, MA 02114 (M.K.K., M.M.M., L.M.H., M.A.B., J.A.S., S.S.); and General Electric Medical Systems, Milwaukee, Wis (T.L.T.). Received December 19, 2002; revision requested February 21, 2003; final revision received April 18; accepted May 1. Address correspondence to S.S. (e-mail: ssaini@partners.org).
Recent technologic advances have markedly enhanced the clinical applications of computed tomography (CT). While the benefits of CT exceed the harmful effects of radiation exposure in patients, increasing radiation doses to the population have raised a compelling case for reduction of radiation exposure from CT. Strategies for radiation dose reduction are difficult to devise, however, because of a lack of guidelines regarding CT examination and scanning techniques. Various methods and strategies based on individual patient attributes and CT technology have been explored for dose optimization. It is the purpose of this review article to outline basic principles of CT radiation exposure and emphasize the need for CT radiation dose optimization based on modification of scanning parameters and application of recent technologic innovations.
© RSNA, 2004
Index terms: Computed tomography (CT), image quality Computed tomography (CT), multidetector row, **.12115, **.121182 Computed tomography (CT), radiation exposure, **.47 Radiations, exposure to patients and personnel, **.47 Review
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