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Lookup NU author(s): Claire Chapple, Dr Colin Kotre
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Patient dose determination and optimization have become more topical in recent years with the implementation of the Medical Exposures Directive into national legislation, the Ionising Radiation (Medical Exposure) Regulations. This legislation incorporates a requirement for new equipment to provide a means of displaying a measure of patient exposure and introduces the concept of diagnostic reference levels. It is normally assumed that patient dose is governed largely by patient size; however, in cardiology, where procedures are often very complex, the significance of patient size is less well understood. This study considers over 9000 cardiology procedures, undertaken throughout the north of England, and investigates the relationship between patient size and dose. It uses simple linear regression to calculate both correlation coefficients and significance levels for data sorted by both room and individual clinician for the four most common examinations, left ventrical and/or coronary angiography, single vessel stent insertion and single vessel angioplasty. This paper concludes that the correlation between patient size and dose is weak for the procedures considered. It also illustrates the use of an existing method for removing the effect of patient size from dose survey data. This allows typical doses and, therefore, reference levels to be defined for the purposes of dose optimization.
Author(s): Reay J, Chapple CL, Kotre CJ
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Physics in Medicine and Biology
Year: 2003
Volume: 48
Issue: 23
Pages: 3843-3850
ISSN (print): 0031-9155
ISSN (electronic):
Publisher: Institute of Physics Publishing Ltd.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1088/0031-9155/48/23/003
DOI: 10.1088/0031-9155/48/23/003
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