EXAMINATION TECHNIQUE, IMAGE QUALITY, AND PATIENT DOSE IN PEDIATRIC RADIOLOGY - A SURVEY INCLUDING 19 SWEDISH HOSPITALS

Purpose: Investigation of examination technique, image quality, and ab sorbed dose to the patients in paediatric radiology. Material and Meth ods: In total, 19 Swedish hospitals participated in the study. Using a questionnaire, the hospitals described their examination technique fo r the pelvis, urinary tract, colon, scoliosis, and lung. The image qua lity and patient dose were experimentally studied for the simulated pe lvis examination of a I-year-old child. This examination was carried o ut with a test object containing a contrast-detail phantom. TL dosimet ers were used to determine the absorbed dose on the surface of the pha ntom, approximately corresponding to the absorbed dose on the surface of the patient. Results: Examination techniques varied considerably am ong the hospitals, the most striking difference concerning the film-sc reen sensitivity. Consequently, there was a variation in the absorbed dose on the surface of the phantom, from 0.09 mGy to 1.7 mGy (mean 0.6 5 mGy). For a large range of doses, 0.4-1.7 mGy, the image quality was not significantly different. Conclusion: The unharmonized, and in man y places unoptimized, examination techniques led to a great variation in the absorbed dose to the children examined.