Greffier Joël, Arjoun Asma, Serrand Chris, Beregi Jean-Paul, Dabli Djamel
IMAGINE UR UM 103, Montpellier University, Department of Medical Imaging, Nîmes University Hospital, Nîmes, France.
Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, Public Health and Innovation in Methodology, Nîmes University Hospital, University of Montpellier, Nîmes, France.
Eur Radiol. 2025 Apr 25. doi: 10.1007/s00330-025-11594-1.
To compare the fetal dose (FD) as calculated by four different software packages for pregnant women who have undergone CT acquisitions directly exposing the whole fetus to X-rays.
Pregnant women who underwent CT abdomen-pelvis and/or thorax-abdomen-pelvis acquisitions from February 2018 to May 2024 and for whom the uterine dose and/or FD was calculated by a medical physicist were retrospectively included. FDs were computed per CT acquisition with VirtualDose-CT™ (VDCT), Duke Organ Dose (DOD), fetaldose.org, and COnceptus Dose Estimation (CODE) software, using phantoms taking the stage of pregnancy into account. FDs calculated by each software package were then compared.
A total of 51 pregnant women with a mean age of 30.2 ± 5.7 years at 17.5 ± 10.0 weeks of pregnancy were included. The mean number of CT acquisitions per pregnant patient was 1.4 ± 0.7 with a mean CTDI of 6.77 ± 3.04 [2.34-15.64] mGy, and FDs were computed for a total of 69 acquisitions. For all CT acquisitions, the median FD was 8.6 (6.8; 10.3) mGy for VDCT, 7.7 (6.1; 9.7) mGy for DOD, 6.3 (4.9; 7.6) mGy for fetaldose.org, and 7.1 (4.6; 8.8) mGy for CODE. Differences between each software package were significant (p < 0.01), except between VDCT and DOD (p = 0.025) and between CODE and fetaldose.org (p = 0.15). The concordance of calculated FD values between the software packages was poor (ICC < 0.50), except between VDCT and CODE and between fetaldose.org and CODE.
The choice of software used affects the calculation of the FD.
Question Differences between calculation software in terms of morphologies and types of phantoms used have an impact on FD calculations? Findings Software choice has an impact on calculated FD, but is not expected to alter patient management except for extreme cases with multiple CT exams. Clinical relevance The FD limit of 100 mGy, defined by the International Commission on Radiological Protection, cannot be reached with a single CT examination, and may only be of concern in cases where the patient undergoes multiple exams with the whole fetus exposed.
比较四种不同软件包计算的胎儿剂量（FD），这些软件用于直接让整个胎儿暴露于X射线的CT扫描孕妇。
回顾性纳入2018年2月至2024年5月期间接受腹部-盆腔和/或胸部-腹部-盆腔CT扫描的孕妇，医学物理学家为其计算子宫剂量和/或FD。使用考虑怀孕阶段的体模，通过VirtualDose-CT™（VDCT）、杜克器官剂量（DOD）、fetaldose.org和概念剂量估计（CODE）软件对每次CT扫描计算FD。然后比较每个软件包计算的FD。
共纳入51名孕妇，平均年龄30.2±5.7岁，怀孕17.5±10.0周。每位孕妇CT扫描的平均次数为1.4±0.7次，平均CTDI为6.77±3.04[2.34-15.64]mGy，共计算了69次扫描的FD。对于所有CT扫描，VDCT计算的FD中位数为8.6（6.8；10.3）mGy，DOD为7.7（6.1；9.7）mGy，fetaldose.org为6.3（4.9；
