Method to determine least CT dose for kids

GOTHENBURG, Sweden, April 5 (UPI) -- Researchers in Sweden say they have developed a method to determine the lowest possible dose of CT scan radiation for children while still getting a good image.

In her thesis, medical physicist Kerstin Ledenius of the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg says if the dose of radiation in a CT scan is lowered too far, the scans become blurred and there is a risk of missing small details.

Ledenius and radiologists, nurses and medical physicists at the Queen Silvia Children's Hospital studied and tested a method that combines the lowest possible dose of radiation with what radiologists consider to be sufficiently high image quality for correct diagnosis. The method is in use at the Queen Silvia Children's Hospital and Ledenius says she hopes more hospitals will use the method as well.

"Adjusting exposure is important, as a small patient does not need the same exposure as a large one," Ledenius says in a statement. "Children also differ anatomically from adults, which affects the image quality needed. Our method ensures the best possible CT scanning, combining images of high quality with the least possible exposure to radiation."