AMAR: a systemic approach for patient radiation protection in CT

Worldwide collective dose due to Computed Tomography constitutes a cost of its increasing clinical applications. Lower levels of patient dose decrease image quality, described mainly by noise, contrast and spatial resolution, as a consequence the image quality and dose (IQ/D) interactions must be optimized. This work proposes a practical systemic approach for the optimization of the IQ/D. The IQ/D influencing factors interact in a complex manner. It is not trivial to design optimization strategies for IQ/D relationship due to a lack of low dose protocols and limited knowledge of multivariate interaction of IQ/D factors. A systemic approach is proposed considering: Attributes of patient, Modulation of scanning parameters, Availability of technological advances and Required clinical image quality (AMAR). (author)