Assessment of CT dose to the fetus and pregnant female patient using patient-specific computational models.

PURPOSE

This work provides detailed estimates of the foetal dose from diagnostic CT imaging of pregnant patients to enable the assessment of the diagnostic benefits considering the associated radiation risks.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

To produce realistic biological and physical representations of pregnant patients and the embedded foetus, we developed a methodology for construction of patient-specific voxel-based computational phantoms based on existing standardised hybrid computational pregnant female phantoms. We estimated the maternal absorbed dose and foetal organ dose for 30 pregnant patients referred to the emergency unit of Geneva University Hospital for abdominal CT scans.

RESULTS

The effective dose to the mother varied from 1.1 mSv to 2.0 mSv with an average of 1.6 mSv, while commercial dose-tracking software reported an average effective dose of 1.9 mSv (range 1.7-2.3 mSv). The foetal dose normalised to CTDI varies between 0.85 and 1.63 with an average of 1.17.

CONCLUSION

The methodology for construction of personalised computational models can be exploited to estimate the patient-specific radiation dose from CT imaging procedures. Likewise, the dosimetric data can be used for assessment of the radiation risks to pregnant patients and the foetus from various CT scanning protocols, thus guiding the decision-making process.

KEY POINTS

• In CT examinations, the absorbed dose is non-uniformly distributed within foetal organs. • This work reports, for the first time, estimates of foetal organ-level dose. • The foetal brain and skeleton doses present significant correlation with gestational age. • The conceptus dose normalised to CTDI varies between 0.85 and 1.63. • The developed methodology is adequate for patient-specific CT radiation dosimetry.