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. 2025 Aug 5;201(12):812-820.
doi: 10.1093/rpd/ncaf080.

Optimizing radiation dose and image quality in neonatal mobile radiography

Takahiko Maeda  1   2 , Makoto Hara  1 , Hiroyuki Yamasaki  1 , Makoto Nakahara  3 , Yoshinori Tanabe  4
Affiliations

Optimizing radiation dose and image quality in neonatal mobile radiography

Takahiko Maeda et al. Radiat Prot Dosimetry. .

Abstract

Children are more susceptible to radiation exposure than adults. Therefore, determining an appropriate radiation dose requires balancing and minimizing radiation exposure while maintaining image quality (IQ) for accurate diagnosis. We evaluated the optimal radiation dose parameters for neonatal chest and abdominal mobile radiography by assessing entrance surface dose and IQ indices. A range of exposure parameters was tested on neonatal and acrylic phantoms, and the optimal settings were determined through visual and physical evaluations. Overall, 65 kVp and 1.2 mAs provided the best balance between minimizing radiation exposure and maintaining high IQ for neonates. This study offers essential insights into optimizing radiographic conditions for neonatal care, contributing to safe and effective radiological practices. These optimized parameters can help guide future clinical applications by ensuring reduced radiation risk and enhanced diagnostic accuracy.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of the study. I. Evaluation of the entrance surface dose using an ionization chamber and a neonatal phantom; II. Observer’s perception test using neonatal and Burger’s phantoms; III. Physical properties test using CDRAD phantom; IV. Determination of optimal imaging conditions using neonatal phantoms.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(A) Entrance surface dose and (B) exposure parameter results.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Results of dose difference between the acrylic plates and the neonatal phantom; (A) nine acrylic plates and spine, (B) eight acrylic plates and heart, the rank-based normalization method; contrast: (C) nine acrylic plates, (D) eight acrylic plates, spatial resolution: (E) nine acrylic plates, (F) eight acrylic plates.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Results of the physical properties test: IQFinverse; (A) spine, (B) heart, contrast-noise ratio (CNR); (C) spine, (D) heart.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Relationship between the incident surface dose and physical parameters. IQF inverse: (A) spine (r:0.83, P < 0.001), (B) heart (r:0.89, P < 0.001). Contrast-noise ratio (CNR): (C) spine (r:0.93, P < 0.001), (D) heart (r:0.82, P < 0.001). Statistical significance (P < 0.01) was determined using Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) and a two-tailed test.
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