Patient doses from CT examinations in region of Prishtina, Kosovo

Abstract

The study was performed on the CT scanners installed in five medical centers, which provides 6, respectively 64 slices per gantry rotation. The free-in-air CTDI was determined from measurements by exposing a CT pencil ionization chamber (PTW TM30009) without any build up materials around, which has been connected with electrometer, type PTW DIADOS E. The measurement of CTDI100 was performed for three standard protocols (head, thorax and abdomen) using acrylic cylindrical phantoms with a diameter of 16 cm and 32 cm. These values were compared with the CTDIw displayed in the console to ensure that the radiation output from the machines were within international standards. Based on results obtained on measurements of free-in-air CTDI, we conclude that all values are within the international standards. A deviation value from measurements taken in this study for selected ThoraxHRSeq., respectively AbdomenSeq. scan CT techniques to mimic clinical conditions for an adult patient, results shows that in cases of machine A and E, percentage of deviation exceed norms by the international standards for AbdomenSeq. protocol, respectively for machine E for ThoraxHRSeq. protocol, too.