Program Information
AAPM TG-252 Preliminary Survey: Current State of Radiographic Techniques in Pediatric Imaging
D Kim1*, R MacDougall2 , C Dodge3 , S Brady4 , L Rill5 , A Sanchez6 , I Bercha7 , (1) Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, (2) Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, (3) Texas Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, (4) St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, (5) Univ Florida, Jacksonville Beach, FL, (6) University of Chicago Medicine , Chicago, IL, (7) Children's Hospital Colorado, Aurora, CO
Presentations
SU-E-702-2 (Sunday, July 30, 2017) 1:00 PM - 1:55 PM Room: 702
Purpose: Preliminary survey results for AAPM TG-252 are reported to capture a state of practice for pediatric radiographic protocols in both pediatric and general public hospital serving pediatric patients in USA.
Methods: Extensive information on the current state of clinical protocols was collected from 9 different digital radiography (DR) units in clinical use in 7 different hospitals in USA. Collected information included Automatic Exposure Control (AEC) calibration settings for different sensitivities and phototimer combinations; Exposure index (EI) accuracy for 0.1, 1.0 and 10 μGy Image Receptor Air Kerma (IRAK) at the calibration beam quality (RQA5) and additional kV ranges from 50 to 120 kVp and filter combinations; Reference Point Air Kerma (RPAK) and exposure parameters for clinical AP Abdomen protocols for 8 patient thickness (10.2 - 21.6 cm).
Results: RPAK ranges in µGy for different patient PMMA thickness equivalent (cm) were (10.2 cm , 41 – 310 μGy,), (12.1 cm, 52 – 497 μGy), (14.0 cm, 74 to 626 μGy), (15.2 cm, 145 – 826 μGy), (17.1 cm, 265 – 1041 μGy), (19.1 cm, 294 – 1550 μGy), (20.3 cm, 366 – 1757 μGy), and (21.6 cm, 366 - 2860 μGy). kVp ranges (57 to 68), (65 to 70), and (65 to 80) for 10.2, 12.1, and 14 cm of PMMA. EI was investigated to be used as a surrogate for the guideline of image quality. Percent difference of EI between the measured and the displayed could be off ranges up to 56% at different exposures at RQA5, 71 % at different kVp, and 49 % with additional filters.
Conclusion: Wide variation in current technique setting of geometry, grid, EI accuracy, AEC sensitivity, added filtration, and IRAK urges the development of pediatric specific techniques and its prompt application for proper management of radiation dose and image quality for pediatric patients.
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