Dose Reduction in Helical CT: Dynamically Adjustable z-Axis X-Ray Beam Collimation

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Abstract
OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to measure the dose reduction achieved with dynamically adjustable z-axis collimation.MATERIALS AND METHODS. A commercial CT system was used to acquire CT scans with and without dynamic z-axis collimation. Dose reduction was measured as a function of pitch, scan length, and position for total incident radiation in air at isocenter, accumulated dose to the center of the scan volume, and accumulated dose to a point at varying distances from a scan volume of fixed length. Image noise was measured at the beginning and center of the scan.RESULTS. The reduction in total incident radiation in air at isocenter varied between 27% and 3% (pitch, 0.5) and 46% and 8% (pitch, 1.5) for scan lengths of 20 and 500 mm, respectively. Reductions in accumulated dose to the center of the scan were 15% and 29% for pitches of 0.5 and 1.5 for 20-mm scans. For scan lengths greater than 300 mm, dose savings were less than 3% for all pitches. Dose reductions 80 mm or farther from a 100-mm sc...

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