Evaluation of organ and effective doses using anthropomorphic phantom: A comparison between experimental measurement and a commercial dose calculator
Date
2023
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Radiography
Abstract
Introduction: The aim of this study was to experimentally measure organ doses for computed tomog raphy (CT) procedures using thermoluminescence dosimeters (TLDs) on a RANDO anthropomorphic
phantom and verify the measured doses using CT-Expo software.
Methods: The phantom was irradiated using clinical CT scan protocols routinely used for specific pro cedures in the radiology department. Fifty TLD chips were used in this study. The scanning parameters
(kVp, mA, s) used to scan the phantom were used as input parameters for CT-Expo dose estimations.
Results: The TLD measured organ doses varied between 3.97 mGy for the esophagus and 56.22 mGy for
the brain. High doses were recorded in the brain (37.80e56.22 mGy) and the eye lens (29.94
e36.16 mGy). Comparing the organ dose measurements between TLD and CT-Expo, the maximum organ
dose difference was obtained for the eye lens. A comparison between the two methods for the other
organs were all less than 32 %. The effective doses from the TLD measurements for the head, chest, and
abdominopelvic CT examinations were 2.78, 6.67, and 17 mSv, respectively and CT-Expo were 2.20, 10.30,
and 16.70 mSv, respectively.
Conclusion: The experimental and computational results are comparable, and the reliability of the TLD
measurements and CT-Expo dose calculator has been proven.
Implications for study: A reason for the difference in dose measurements between the two methods has
been attributed to the dissimilarity in the organ position in the Rando anthropomorphic phantom and
the standard mathematical phantom used by CT-Expo. The experimental and computational results have
been found to be comparable.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
Computed tomography, Organ dose, Effective dose, TLD, Anthropomorphic phantoms