Paediatric dose measurement in a full-body digital radiography unit.

BACKGROUND

Ionizing radiation has a detrimental effect on the human body, particularly in children. Thus it is important to minimize the dose. Linear slit-scanning X-ray units offer the possibility of dose reductions. In order to further develop linear slit-scanning radiography, the dose needs to be accurately calculated for various examinations.

OBJECTIVE

To measure the entrance dose (free-in-air) and calculate the effective doses for various radiological examinations in children on Lodox Statscan and Shimadzu radiography units.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Entrance doses (free-in-air) were measured using a dose meter and ionization chamber on the Statscan and Shimadzu units at two South African hospitals. The entrance doses were measured for a number of common examinations and were used to compute the effective dose using a Monte Carlo program.

RESULTS

The standard deviation of the entrance doses was in the range 0-0.6%. The effective dose from the Statscan unit was well below that from the Shimadzu unit as well as that found in other radiological studies from around the world in children. The one exception was chest examination where the dose was similar to that in other studies worldwide due to the use of Chest AP projection compared to Chest PA used in the comparative studies.

CONCLUSION

Linear slit-scanning systems help reduce the dose in radiological examinations in children.