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. 2024 Apr 18:14:11.
doi: 10.4103/jmss.jmss_53_22. eCollection 2024.

Patient-specific Effective Dose Estimation from Dose-Length Product in Lung Computed Tomography Using Monte Carlo Simulation

Gholamreza Fallahmohammadi  1 , Zeinab Kordzini Nodeh  2 , Mohammad Mahdavi  2
Affiliations

Patient-specific Effective Dose Estimation from Dose-Length Product in Lung Computed Tomography Using Monte Carlo Simulation

Gholamreza Fallahmohammadi et al. J Med Signals Sens. .

Abstract

Background: Computed tomography (CT) imaging has a large portion in the dose of patients from radiological procedures; therefore, accurate calculation of radiation risk estimation in this modality is inevitable. In this study, a method for determining the patient-specific effective dose using the dose-length product (DLP) index in lung CT scan using Monte Carlo (MC) simulation is introduced.

Methods: EGSnrc/BEAMnrc MC code was used to simulate a CT scanner. The DOSxyznrc simulation code was used to simulate a specific voxelized phantom from the patient's lungs and irradiate it according to X-ray parameter of routing lung CT scan, and dose delivered to thorax organs was calculated. Three types of phantoms were simulated according to three different body habits (slim, standard, and fat patients) in two groups of men and women. A factor was used to convert the relative dose per particle in MC code to the absolute dose. The dose was calculated in all lung organs, and the effective dose was calculated for all three groups of patient body habits. DLP index and volume CT dose index (CTDIvol) were extracted from the patient's dose report in the CT scanner. The DLP to effective dose conversion factor (k-factor) for patients with different body habitus was calculated.

Results: Lung radiation dose in slim, standard, and fat patients in men was 0.164, 0.103, and 0.078 mGy/mAs and in women was 0.164, 0.105, and 0.079 mGy/mAs, respectively. The k-factor in the group of slim patients, especially in women, was higher than in other groups.

Conclusions: CT scan dose indexes for slim patients are reported to be underestimated in studies. The dose report in CT scan systems should be modified in proportion to the patient's body habitus, to accurately estimate the radiation risk.

Keywords: Computed tomography scan; dose–length product; effective dose; organ dose; simulation.

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Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Specific phantom of the lung of fat, standard, and slim patients in the group of female to calculate the dose in the DOSxyznrc code. Computed tomography images are from the central slice of the thorax region
Figure 2
Figure 2
The mean dose of organs in the thorax per volume computed tomography dose index in three body habits separately for men and women in computed tomography scan imaging of the lung
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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