Comparison of calculated organ doses and somatic dose index from conventionally filtered and high-Z element filtered diagnostic X-ray machines

Currently, there is significant interest in reducing patient Entrance Skin Exposure (ESE) in diagnostic radiology procedures with the use of high-Z filters. Most of these filters are classified as rare-earth elements. Reduction of the ESE by 50% or more with this type of filter has been reported in the literature. These filters tend to reduce the ESE while increasing the effective energy of the x-ray beam. This study uses organ dose and somatic dose index as the appropriate means of assessing patient health risk. The performance of two high-Z filters is compared with conventional filtration in diagnostic radiology x-ray machines using calculated organ doses and somatic dose index for a number of common diagnostic radiology projections