The analysis of doses and image at chest radiography using an Active Breathing Coordinator (ABC) system

In this study, we attempted a comparative analysis of the dose and imaging difference between the deep inhalation (DI) and deep exhalation (DE) chest radiography of the same region. Healthy volunteers (n = 30; 27 men and 3 women) free of chest disease in their 20s, 30s, and 40s were selected as the subjects of this study. We employed an X-ray generator (Philips) with a built-in ion chamber and an Active Breathing Coordinator (ABC) system Version 1.02 (Elekta) with embedded software (Aktina Medical Co., USA) that produces graphs following breathing cycles. Significant differences (p < 0.05) in statistical processing were analyzed with a t test using SPSS version 18.0. The measurements of vital capacities using ABC during chest radiography resulted in overall mean air volumes of 2,220 and 1,507 ml during DI and DE, respectively, which yielded a vital capacity of 3,727 ml. The radiation doses of 30 volunteers during chest radiography were 8.50 ± 1.85 Gym ^2 and 11.29 ± 4.71 Gym ^2 during DI and DE, respectively, thereby demonstrating a 32