Low-Dose Radiation CT Scans Becoming Standard Practice in Hospitals

Patients requiring a computed tomography (CT) scan will now be exposed to up to 40% less radiation than traditional CT scans. A U.S. hospital has acquired sophisticated equipment featuring adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASiR), which uses a sophisticated image reconstruction technique that makes it possible to reduce drastically radiation dose without compromising image quality.

"We have the utmost concern for the safety of our patients,” said John Smith, director, radiology services at Saint Francis Hospital (Evanston, IL, USA). "This technology will not only provide us with a higher level of image quality for our physicians, but it will also minimize the risk to all patients, particularly children and young adults, who are more susceptible to harm from overexposure to radiation.”

Radiation dose for a particular study depends on multiple unique factors such as patient weight/build, type of scan, image area, and resolution. Typically, the more radiation used, the sharper the images. However, this new technology does not sacrifice image quality with the reduced radiation dosage. CT technology is the diagnostic exam of choice when people are ill or injured, or when a physician suspects a medical problem that is not easily detectable with a conventional physical examination.

The CT scanning technology used at the hospital was developed by GE Healthcare (Chalfont St. Giles, UK).

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