Radiation Dose-Reduction Strategies in Chest CT

This article begins with an overview of the steadily increasing use of CT imaging in the United States, which is one of the reasons the radiation dose associated with CT imaging has received so much recent attention. Before we examine strategies that may help reduce the radiation dose incurred by a given patient, however, it is important for all radiologists to be cognizant of the radiation doses associated with CT, understand why this is a concern, and appreciate the potential risks for a patient receiving such doses. Then, as we examine some of the strategies advocated for reducing these radiation doses, we also must examine what effect such manipulations may have on the diagnostic quality of our CT studies and whether we, as radiologists, will find that such manipulated images still are diagnostically acceptable. Lastly, some new strategies in CT imaging that aim to help reduce the radiation dose to patients are described.