Evaluation of Effective Dose Using the k-Factor of Optimal Scan Range for CT Examination

The American College of Radiology opened the computed tomography (CT) dose index registry (DIR) for general participation by all facilities in 2011. For each CT examination, data on volume CT dose index (CTDIvol), dose-length product (DLP), and, for body examinations, size-specific dose estimate (SSDE) were collected. However, effective dose is not estimated in DIR. The primary objective of this study was to estimate k-factor profile in detail at various scan positions with modified the ImPACT CT patient dosimetry. A tool that easily estimates the k-factor of suitable scan areas is essential for practical dose estimation in the DIR. We evaluated k-factor (effective dose/ DLP) profiles between a medical international radiation dose-five (MIRD-5) phantom positions using aImPACT software. As a result of this study, practicality of the k-factor profile method in clinical use was clarified. We speculate that a flexible k-factor improves the appropriateness of the E in hospital settings.