Optimal Exposure Conditions according to Detector Type in Chest Digital Radiography

The aim of this study was to set up the optimal exposure condition according to detector type considering image quality (IQ) with radiation dose in chest digital radiography. We used three detector type such as flat-panel detector (FP) and computed radiography (CR), and charge-coupled device (CCD). Entrance surface dose (ESD) was measured at each exposure condition combined tube voltage with tube current using dosimeter, after attaching on human phantom, it was repeated 3 times. Phantom images were evaluated independently by three chest radiologists after blinding image informations. Standard exposure condition using each institution was 117 kVp-AEC at FP and 117 kVp-8 mAs at CR, and 117 kVp-8 mAs at CCD. Statistical analysis was performed by One way ANOVA (Dunnett T3 test) using SPSS ver. 19.0. In FP, IQ scores were not significant difference between 102 kVp-4 mAs and 117 kVp-AEC (28.4 vs. 31.1, p=1.000), even though ESD was decreased up to 50% ( $62.3{\mu}Gy$ vs. $125.1{\mu}Gy$ ). In CR, ESD was greatly decreased from 117 kVp-8 mAs to 90 kVp-8 mAs without significant difference of IQ score (p=1.000, 24.6 vs. 19.5). In CCD, IQ score of 117 kVp-8 mAs was similar with 109 kVp-8 mAs (29.6 vs. 29.0), with decreasing from $320.8{\mu}Gy$ to $284.7{\mu}Gy$ (about 11%). We conclude that optimal x-ray exposure condition for chest digital radiography is 102 kVp-4 mAs in FP and 90 kVp-8 mAs in CR, and 109 kVp-8 mAs in CCD.