Abstract
Chest radiography remains the most often utilized radiological modality in the neonatal intensive care unit. Neonates are more radiosensitive and are at higher risk of cancer than adults. In addition, they have a longer life expectancy, which increases the risk of cancer. Therefore, it is essential to protect neonates from radiation hazards.
The study aims to assess the effectiveness of using high HKVp technique on reducing radiation dose to neonates undergoing Antero-posterior (AP) chest x-rays.
The experiment used a newborn anthropomorphic phantom to simulate a neonate. Chest x-ray images were acquired using different combinations of KVp and mAs. Dose area product (DAP) was recorded in the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) header. The effective dose was determined using Monte Carlo simulation. Subjective assessment of image quality was evaluated by three radiologists blindly. The Objective assessment of image quality uses the calculation of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR).
The reduction in the DAP and effective dose at 50 KVp was 26.7% and 19.2%, respectively and for 60 KVp it was 22.9 and 20.2, respectively. While, the reduction in the DAP and effective dose at 70 KVp was 40% and 26%, respectively. There were no significant differences in the means of the DAP, SNR, CNR, and effective dose among different combinations of KVp and mAs.
The use of the high KVp technique can play an important role in reducing radiation dose without significant loss of image quality.
•Use of the high KVp technique can reduce radiation dose without significant loss of image quality.•At 70 KVp, the DAP and effective dose reduced by 40% and 26%, respectively.•Use of high kVp showed no significant difference in SNR, CNR and radiation dose.•Effort should be made to reduce patients' dose without compromising diagnostic outcome.