A case study of application of exposure index in computed radiography by using human chest phantom

As the use of digital radiographic system has been expanded, there are some concerns an increase about in patient of radiation dose. Therefore, International Electro-technical Commission (IEC) has been proposed a standard foe exposure index (EI). In this study, the EI was measured on human chest model using computed radiography (CR). Radiation quality used RQA5 of IEC62494-1. After acquiring the chest anterior posterior image (Chest AP) by using the phantom, the EI was obtained by applying the system response. In this study, we have analyzed the images with the detector size (Full filed ROI) and the optimized image (Fit filed ROI). The EI increased proportionally with radiation dose increase. Due to the discrete increase in pixel value, the EI showed an exponential increase. The discrete increase in noise equivalent quanta (NEQ) resulted in a discrete increase in the EI. The EI of the two images used in this study increased with increasing NEQ but showed different increments. For the measurement of the EI, IEC standards must be followed. The EI should be used as an index to evaluate the image quality for quality control of X-ray image rather than as an indicator of exposure dose. When calculating the EI, the system response should be applied depending on whether or not the grid is used. The size of the field should be obtained by including only the necessary parts