Efficacy of Increasing Focus to Film Distance (FFD) for Patient's Dose and Image Quality in Pediatric Chest Radiography

Background: Increasing the X-ray focus to film distance (FFD) has been advocated as an effective method to reduce the patients' radiation dose. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of this technique in patients' dose and image quality in pediatric chest X-ray. Materials and Methods: Sixty pediatric patients were X-ray imaged at FFDs of 100 and 130 cm. Dose measurements were performed using thermo-luminescent dosimeters (GR200). The quality of images was independently assessed using the anatomical criteria recommended by the European guidelines. Results: Increasing the FFD from 100 to 130 cm has reduced the entrance skin dose (ESD) of patients by 32.2% (P <0.05). There was no statistical difference for image quality scores between the two techniques (P>0.05). Conclusion Increased FFD to 130 cm reduce the pediatric radiation dose with no significant changes in image quality.