An estimation of the annual effective dose to the Canadian population from medical CT examinations.

This study was carried out to assess the annual per capita effective dose from medical diagnostic procedures using computed tomography (CT) in Canada. Relevant data concerning the nature and the frequency of various diagnostic CT examinations were obtained from the reports on Medical Imaging in Canada and Diagnostic Services in Ontario. Doses associated with examinations of different types were based primarily on typical effective doses used in the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements Report 160 with considerations of limited dose information surveyed in Canada. The results show that the per capita annual effective dose from diagnostic CT exams was 0.74 mSv in 2006, up from 0.19 mSv in 1991. This significant increase in population radiation dose from CT scans is due mainly to a more than doubling in the examination rate and to a higher radiation dose per procedure from the newer generation of multi-detector CTs.