Date/Time
Date(s) - 10/01/2012
11:00 am

The growing diagnostic capabilities of computed tomography (CT or CAT) scans have led to the annual number of exams in the United States to increase from 3.6 million in 1980 to 72 million in 2007. This twentyfold increase in exams is concerning due to potential increases of cancer risks due to patient radiation exposures associated with the increased use of these scans. The desire to quantify these risks has led to a push to track patient radiation organ doses as part of patient medical files.  However, these calculations are complicated by new dose-reduction technologies such as automatic tube current modulation, which accounts for variations in patient anatomy over the course of an exam.  This study aims to provide a proof of concept for calculating patient organ doses post-examination for Toshiba CT scanners at Shands Hospital at the University of Florida for exams that include automatic tube current modulation.