Effective Dose Measurements of the Latest-Generation Angiographic System in Patients with Acute Stroke: A Comparison with the Newest Multidetector CT Generation

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Patients with acute ischemic stroke are increasingly triaged with one-stop management approaches, resulting in baseline imaging with a flat detector CT scanner. This study aimed to estimate the effective dose to a patient of a novel cervical and intracranial flat detector CT angiography and a flat detector CT perfusion protocol and to compare it with the effective dose of analogous multidetector row CT protocols.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We estimated the effective dose to the patient according to the International Commission on Radiological Protection 103 using an anthropomorphic phantom with metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor dosimeters. Placement was according to the organ map provided by the phantom manufacturer. We used 100 measurement points within the phantom, and 18 metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor dosimeters were placed on the surface of the phantom. All protocols followed the manufacturer’s specifications, and patient positioning and collimation were performed as in routine clinical practice. Measurements were obtained on the latest-generation angiography and multidetector row CT systems with identical placement of the metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor dosimeters.

RESULTS: The estimated effective doses of the investigated perfusion protocols were 4.52 mSv (flat detector CT perfusion without collimation), 2.88 mSv (flat detector CT perfusion with collimation), and 2.17 mSv (multidetector row CT perfusion). A novel protocol called portrait flat detector CT angiography that has a z-axis coverage area comparable with that of multidetector row CT angiography had an estimated effective dose of 0.91 mSv, while the dose from multidetector row CT was 1.35 mSv.

CONCLUSIONS: The estimated effective dose to the patient for flat detector CT perfusion and angiography on a modern biplane angiography system does not deviate substantially from that of analogous multidetector row CT protocols.