National Conference on Dose Reduction in CT, with an Emphasis on Pediatric Patients

321 he clinical value of CT is unquestioned, and the uses of newer helical and multidetector units are growing. The dose received by some patients, particularly children, is higher than desired and must and can be reduced without any significant loss of diagnostic information. These were the conclusions of a 2-day symposium on the subject of CT dose conducted November 6–7, 2002, by the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements. CT dose reduction will require a combination of approaches, a series of speakers agreed. These include user education for physicians and radiologic technologists, development of technique charts by medical physicists, development of automatic exposure control devices by manufacturers, and possible retrofits of these devices for older machines. It also will require creation of a climate of opinion in which radiologists will demand attention to dose reduction in their purchase of new CT scanners, one industry participant commented. The National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements conference was more a work in progress than a starting call to action, said the conference chairman, Fred A. Mettler, Jr., of the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque. He observed that articles about excessive CT dose have multiplied in the radiologic literature and presentations on the subject have appeared on national society programs during the past year. The American College of Radiology (ACR) has announced a new CT facility accreditation program. “Our task is to define where we are on CT dose and to make recommendations on where we go from here.”