Application value of dose reduction techniques (MinDose) in dual - source CT coronary artery angiography

Objective To evaluate the radiation dose and image quality of MinDose techniques in dual-source CT coronary artery angiography.Methods 120 consecutive patients undergoing cardiac CT scans were randomly assigned into 2 groups: Group A1 with the tube current reduced to 20% of the normal tube current outside the pulsing window,and Group A2 with the tube current reduced to 4% of the normal tube current outside the pulsing window (MinDose).The image quality,noise,volume CT dose index (CTDIvol),and effective dose (E) of these two groups were evaluated.Results The mean score of imaging quality of Group A1 was (4.3 ± 0.3 ),not significantly different from that of Group A2 [(4.5 ±0.4),t=0.16,P＞0.05].The value of CTDIvol of Group A1 was (40.2 ±9.6) mGy,significantly higher than that of Group A2 [( 36.4 ± 9.1 ) mGy,t = 3.2,P ＜ 0.05].The E value of Group A1 was (9.1± 2.2) mSv ,significantly higher than that of A2 [( 8.1 ± 1.9) mSv,t = 2.7,P ＜ 0.05].Conclusion Application of the MinDose technique not only reduces the radiation dose to the patient,but also meets the requirement of diagnosis. Key words: Coronary artery;  Dual-source CT;  Radiation dose;  Tomography