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Multislice CT pp 75–81Cite as

Radiation Dose in Multislice Cardiac CT

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Part of the book series: Medical Radiology ((Med Radiol Diagn Imaging))

Abstract

The development of computed tomography of the heart is still making rapid progress regarding the applied radiation dose. The peak of dose exposure has been reached with 10 to 15 mSv in 64-slice CTCA with a standard protocol (120 kV, 800 mAseff, 0.2 pitch). New inventions like dual-source CT decrease the dose to 8 mSv. Initial data from prospectively gated CT scans promise even less dose exposure in the range of 3 mSv. However, basic underlying facts of dose optimization in cardiac CT remain of great importance. The effective dose in women is generally higher than in men, because radiation sensitive breast tissue is inevitably within the scan range. ECG-controlled tube current modulation (ECTCM) significantly lowers the effective dose. Efficacy of ECTCM up to the introduction of dual-source CT benefits from lowering the heart rate with β-blockers. Exact planning of a cardiac examination can help to shorten scan length and directly save radiation. A milestone in argumentative discussion will be reached if the effective dose of a cardiac scan consistently lies below 5 mSv, the alleged dose of a diagnostic catheter angiography of the coronary arteries.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Abteilung Röntgendiagnostik, Radiologische Universitätsklinik Freiburg, Hugstetter Str. 55, 79106, Freiburg, Germany

    Ulrich Saueressig & Thorsten A. Bley

Authors
  1. Ulrich Saueressig
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  2. Thorsten A. Bley
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Munich University Hospital, Institute of Clinical Radiology, Ludwig-Maximilians University, Marchioninistr. 15, 81377, Munich, Germany

    Maximilian F. Reiser , C.R. Becker  & Konstantin Nikolaou ,  & 

  2. School of Medicine, Department of Radiology, Stanford University, 1201 Welch Road, 94304, Palo Alto, CA, USA

    Gary Glazer

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© 2009 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Saueressig, U., Bley, T. (2009). Radiation Dose in Multislice Cardiac CT. In: Reiser, M., Becker, C., Nikolaou, K., Glazer, G. (eds) Multislice CT. Medical Radiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-33125-4_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-33125-4_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-540-33124-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-540-33125-4

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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