Advanced CT scanners reduce patient radiation exposure, study finds
- Date:
- June 21, 2014
- Source:
- Beaumont Health System
- Summary:
- The use of advanced CT scanning equipment is helping to address the important concern of patient exposure to radiation. The study results provide information that will help in setting standards for radiation safety quality control in cardiovascular imaging.
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Computed tomography scans are an accepted standard of care for diagnosing heart and lung conditions. But clinicians worry that the growing use of CT scans could be placing patients at a higher lifetime risk of cancer from radiation exposure.
Beaumont Health System research, published in the June 20 online issue of the Journal of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography, found that the use of advanced CT scanning equipment is helping to address this important concern.
The study, of 2,085 patients at nine centers in the U.S. and Middle East, found that using newer generation, dual-source CT scanners significantly reduced radiation exposure for patients when compared with first generation, 64-slice, single-source scanners or first generation, dual-source CT scanners.
Patient radiation exposure was reduced by 61 percent with the newer scanners, with no significant difference in image quality for patients having CT scans for coronary artery disease, pulmonary embolism or aortic disease.
"Newer technology makes a difference in terms of radiation exposure and the difference is quite large," says study author Kavitha Chinnaiyan, M.D., director of Advanced Cardiac Imaging Research at Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak. "It is important for patients to ask questions when referred for a radiation-based test to understand what the procedure involves and what the risks are of the particular technique and if there are alternative imaging choices."
The study findings also have important implications for referring physicians.
"Clinicians must understand that imaging studies not only have a major impact on the care of an individual patient, but also on trends in radiation exposure, as well as overall health care costs," says Dr. Chinnaiyan. "Incidental findings may require further imaging studies with other radiation-based tests. In addition to choosing patients appropriately, it is important to discuss the risks and benefits of testing with patients, and to refer them to centers that offer newer technologies."
The study results provide information that will help in setting standards for radiation safety quality control in cardiovascular imaging.
Story Source:
Materials provided by Beaumont Health System. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Journal Reference:
- Kavitha M. Chinnaiyan, Abhay N. Bilolikar, Edward Walsh, Daniel Wood, Ann DePetris, Ralph Gentry, Judith Boura, Suhny Abbara, Mouaz Al-Mallah, Kostaki Bis, Gilbert Boswell, Michael Gallagher, Ing-Orn Arunakul, Sandra Halliburton, Jill Jacobs, John Lesser, U. Joseph Schoepf, Uma S. Valeti, Gilbert L. Raff. CT dose reduction using prospectively triggered or fast-pitch spiral technique employed in cardiothoracic imaging (the CT dose study). Journal of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography, 2014; DOI: 10.1016/j.jcct.2014.04.001
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