Technical and diagnostic quality assurance are particularly important
in computed tomography due to the complexity of the technology and the
variability of scan parameters. The effect of the scanning parameters
on image quality and patient dose has been assessed quantitatively by
phantom measurements on seven CT systems in Denmark brought into clin
ical operation during recent years. Image quality criteria have been f
ormulated for the mediastinum and retroperitoneum. These criteria are
a modified version of the criteria defined by the German Federal Chamb
er of Physicians which have been tested in a prefatory pilot study. A
total of 190 examinations for the two types have been evaluated by an
expert radiologist trained in CT and a mean score given for fulfilment
of the selected pure anatomical criteria equally weighted. The doses
for the examinations are defined by the measured multi-slice average d
ose (MSAD) multiplied with the number of slices and the slice thicknes
s, giving a value related to the volume dose. For the same type of exa
mination a variation up to a factor of five in dose is registered with
out any significant improvement of the image quality or diagnostic inf
ormation. There seems to be a need for optimisation of the dose value
and the number of slices for each examination protocol. The new fast s
canners with high capacity of the X ray tube invites an unnecessarily
high patient exposure. More detailed calculations of effective doses w
ill be performed.