Use of Automatic exposure control in multislice computed tomography of the coronaries: Comparison of 16-slice and 64-slice scanner data with conventional coronary angiography

Anja G Deetjen ^1*, Susanne Möllmann ², Guido Conradi ², Andreas Rolf ², Axel Schmermund ³, Christian W Hamm ² and Thorsten Dill ²

¹ Katharinenhospital Stuttgart, Germany
² Kerckhoff-Heart Center, Bad Nauheim, Germany
³ Cardioangiologisches Zentrum Bethanien, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: anja.deetjen{at}web.de.

Accepted 16 January 2007

Abstract

Objective The aim of our study was to evaluate the radiation dose reduction potential of Automatic Exposure Control (AEC) in 16-slice and 64-slice Multislice Computed Tomography (MSCT) of the coronaries (CTA) in patients. The rapid growth in MSCT CTA emphasizes the necessity of adjusting technique factors in order to reduce radiation dose exposure.

Design A retrospective data analysis was performed for 154 patients who had undergone MSCT CTA. Group 1 (56 patients) had undergone 16-slice MSCT without AEC, group 2 (51) with AEC. In group 1, an Invasive Coronary Angiography (ICA) had been performed in addition. Group 3 (47 patients) had been examinated using a 64-slice scanner (with AEC, without ECG-TTCM).

Results In group 1, the mean Effective Dose (ED) for MSCT CTA was 9.76 ± 1.84 mSv and 2.6 ± 1.27 mSv for ICA. Mean ED for MSCT CTA in group 2 was 5.83 ± 1.73 mSv which signifies a 42.8 % dose reduction for CTA by the use of AEC. In comparison to ICA MSCT CTA without AEC shows a 3.8-fold radiation dose, and the radiation dose of CTA with AEC was increased by a factor of 1.9. The mean ED in group 3 was 13.58 ±2.80 mSV

Conclusions This is the first study to show the significant dose reduction potential (42.8 %) of AEC in MSCT CTA in patients. In order to attain an "as low as reasonably achievable radiation dose", this relatively new technique can be used to optimize the radiation dose levels in MSCT CTA.

Keywords: angiography, automatic exposure control, computed tomography, imaging, radiation exposure

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