A new technique called adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR) may enable radiologists to reduce patient radiation dose from computed tomography (CT) scans by up to 65 percent, according to a new study. CT scans are responsible for more than two thirds of the total radiation dose from medical imaging.
The iterative reconstruction technique enables radiologists to improve image quality, much like adjusting a TV antenna to make a “fuzzy” image sharper, while significantly reducing the radiation dose.
CT scans using the new ASIR method and the standard dose method were performed on a “Ëœphantom’ and on 12 patients. “We found nearly identical image quality using the reduced dose CT method with ASIR compared with the standard dose CT method without ASIR,” Amy Hara, MD, lead author of the study at Mayo Clinic Arizona in Scottsdale was quoted as saying. “In our study, patient radiation doses were reduced up to 65 percent using the low-dose IR method.”
“Finding a way to reduce radiation dose for routine body CT imaging has been an ongoing concern. Our study is significant because it shows that the low-dose ASIR method can significantly decrease the radiation dose along with the many risks associated with radiation exposure. In future studies, it will be important to not only evaluate image quality but to assess diagnostic accuracy,” said Dr. Hara. “ASIR is new to CT but in our practice it has been very successful.”
SOURCE: American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR), September 2009
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