Comparison of the Radiation Dose from Cone Beam Computed Tomography and Multidetector Computed Tomography in Examinations of the Hand

Purpose: Comparison of radiation dose of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) and multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) in examinations of the hand. Materials and Methods: Dose calculations were carried out by means of Monte Carlo simulations in MDCT and CBCT. A corpse hand was examined in a 320-row MDCT scanner and a dedicated extremities CBCT scanner with standard protocols and multiple low-dose protocols. The image quality of the examinations was evaluated by 5 investigators using a Likert scale from 1 (very good) to 5 (very poor) regarding depiction of cortical bone, cancellous bone, joint surfaces, soft tissues and artifacts. For a sum of ratings of all structures <50 a good overall image quality was expected. The studies with at least good overall image quality were compared with respect to the dose. Results: The dose of the standard examination was 13.21 (12.96 to 13.46 CI) mGy in MDCT and 7.15 (6.99 to 7.30 CI) mGy in CBCT. The lowest dose in a study with good overall image quality was 4.54 (4.43 to 4.64 CI) mGy in MDCT and 5.72 (5.59 to 5.85 CI) mGy in CBCT. Conclusion: Although the dose of the standard protocols in the CBCT is lower than in the MDCT, the MDCT can realize a good overall image quality at a lower dose than the CBCT. Dose optimization of CT examination protocols for the hand is useful in both modalities, the MDCT has an even greater potential for optimization. Key points:. Low dose examinations of the hand are feasible in CBCT and MDCT. In default settings CBCT has a lower dose than MDCT.. MDCT enables a good image quality at a lower dose than CBCT. Citation Format:. Neubauer J, Neubauer C, Gerstmair A et al. Comparison of the Radiation Dose from Cone Beam Computed Tomography and Multidetector Computed Tomography in Examinations of the Hand. Fortschr Rontgenstr 2016; 188: 488-493