Reducing Radiation Exposure Without Compromising Image Quality for Lumbar Spine CT

Abstract

In light of the heightened awareness of radiation’s cancer-causing potential and the dramatic increase in the number of CT studies, minimizing radiation exposure is a paramount objective in radiology. An issue that complicates this goal is that image quality is a function of the dose of radiation. In other words, larger doses result in higher quality images. The goal then is to strike a balance to maximize patient safety: reduce radiation without compromising the quality of the image.