Skip to main content

How to interpret dose or DLP from a coronary CT scan

Results from my Coronary Calcium CT say:

Estimated cumulative dose or total dose-length-product (DLP) is: 31 mGy-cm. Estimated radiation doses are based on a 32 cm body phantom reference.

Prior to the CT, I asked the technician (or radiologist?... the person that took the scan) what the radiation dose would be. He told me he couldn't give me exact numbers prior to the scan, but that it was very low dose -- in his words, equivalent to "a 2 hour airplane flight", that the machine produces far less radiation than CT scans used to, and that numbers you find online for CT scans are often referenced from older equipment.

I was under the impression that:

  • Short airline flight ~ 0.02 mSv
  • Annual background radiation is ~ 3 mSv
  • Coronary CT 1-3 mSv
  • Other CTs up to 10 mSv

But at 31 mGy-cm, where 1 mGy = 1 mSv, that's 31 mSv, which sound incredibly high, 10 years of background radiation. So maybe I'm not understanding the "per cm" portion or phantom reference.

Can anyone please interpret this DLP in terms of comparison to background radiation or such?

submitted by /u/Peacewise
[link] [comments]

source https://www.reddit.com/r/Radiology/comments/mymcoa/how_to_interpret_dose_or_dlp_from_a_coronary_ct/

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Two teenage boys experimenting with magnetic balls.

submitted by /u/Funtimestic [link] [comments] source https://www.reddit.com/r/Radiology/comments/sqr6wc/two_teenage_boys_experimenting_with_magnetic_balls/

Onetonline salary search change?

Did this change? I am having a hard time finding the same lists I saw 2 months ago. https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/29-2034.00#AdditionalInformation https://www.onetonline.org/link/localwages/29-2034.00?st=OR&p=hourly I used to be able to see wage by area and sort it by state and see the differences per state and per city in every state. I can't seem to find this same list anymore. I can see a bell curve but I can't sort by state or wage or anything. Thanks! submitted by /u/xxDamnationxx [link] [comments] source https://www.reddit.com/r/Radiology/comments/h9oqup/onetonline_salary_search_change/

Question regarding ultrasound

Hello radiologists, I have a quick question regarding ultrasounds of the scrotum. (Not asking for medical advice just wondering about something). I’ve done an ultrasound of the scrotum and the radiologist only took pictures of the right side of the testicle and then the left side but not in between so my question is, do ultrasounds show all “angles” of a testicle or does the device need to be held at various areas to show a full testicle? Because if only one side of the testicle is seen then wouldn’t the other side be as important in diagnosing something? Thanks! submitted by /u/doomyboomy [link] [comments] source https://www.reddit.com/r/Radiology/comments/oi2nmk/question_regarding_ultrasound/