A new study published in The Spine Journal examines radiation dose reduction for spine radiographic imaging in patients by choosing the less radiation-sensitive side of the body.
The study examines the standard mathematical phantoms for adults and 10-year-old children with software based on the Monte Carlo simulations. The researchers calculated the pediatric and adult tissue/organ doses and effective dose.
The researchers found:
1. The spine X-ray exposure from the various right LAT projection angles were associated with lower ED than the left projections. There was up to 28 percent less for children at age 10 and 27 percent less for adults.
2. The posterior anterior spine projections reported up to 64 percent lower ED for children age 10 than the anterior posterior projections.
3. The posterior anterior spine projections reported up to 65 percent lower ED for adults than the anterior posterior projections.
4. The anterior posterior projection at the thoracic spine causes excess breast dose of around 543 percent for children age 10 and 597 percent for adults.
5. The researchers concluded, "Radiation ED in spine procedures can be significantly reduced by performing X-ray exposures through the less radiation sensitive side of the body, which are PA in the frontal position and RT LAT in the lateral position."