Dose Distribution and Image Quality in the Gantry Aperture for CT Examinations

The purpose of this study was to determine the dose distribution and image quality according to slice thickness and BC(beam collimation) in the gantry aperture. CT scans were performed with a 64-slice MDCT(Brilliance 64, Philips, Cleveland, USA) scanner. To determine the dose distribution according to BC, a ionization chamber was placed at isocenter and 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 cm positions from the isocenter in the 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock directions. The dose distribution for phantom scan was also measured using CT head and body dose phantom with five holes at the center of the phantom and the positions of the 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock directions. The image noise measurement for different BCs was performed using an AAPM CT phantom. Water-filled block of the phantom was moved by 5 cm or 10 cm to the 12 o'clock direction, and the image noise was measured at the center of the phantom, and the points of 12, 3, 6 and 9 o'clock direction respectively. Some points were placed beyond the scan field of view (SFOV), so that measurement was not possible at that points. The results are as follows: The CTDIw showed a larger decrease as the source goes farther from the iso-center or the BC became wider. The CTDIw depends on the BC width more than the number of the channel of a detector array. The value of CTDIW decreased with increasing BC, but the value decreased 16.6-31.9% in the head phantom scan in air scan and 51.0-64.5% in the body phantom scan. The value of the noise was 3.9-5.9 in the head and 5.3-7.4 in the body except for BC of , regardless of the degree of deviation from the iso-center. When a subject was located within the SFOV, the position did not significantly affect image quality even if the subject was out of the center.