Research on multi-slice/detector computed tomography (MDCT) is being undertaken in the Nuffield Department of Surgery, University of Oxford. Work involves balancing image quality and radiation exposure for patients undergoing MDCT for medical purposes. Areas of particular interest for our group include cervical spine imaging, low contrast imaging of the abdomen and abdominal sepsis.

Part of the research into radiation dose constraint was funded by the EC (framework 6). The EC research programme sought to establish clinical justification of MDCT by field studies of use, safety and dose levels used in MDCT. Meta-analysis of published literature showed that new clinical applications of MDCT had been the target of recent research, but established common applications of CT were underrepresented in the new technology. Consequently, prospective studies undertaken by the consortium were designed to explore important information and guidance on the justification and optimisation of use of CT. Our work supported this programme and concentrated on abdominal sepsis. An education exhibit poster paper was presented for the EC group at ECR 2007, entitled “Current practices of MSCT: a descriptive analysis”, based on data collected from six radiology departments in different European countries. This was followed-up by an oral presentation at ECR 2008 entitled “Practice in multi-slice computed tomography: How do we perform?” (B-292). The results of our meta-analysis and retrospective/prospective studies on abdominal sepsis have been published (abstract). A scientific e-Poster paper on the diagnostic accuracy study was presented at UKRC in Birmingham and the poster was awarded the IPEM Poster Prize for best electronic poster exhibition at the UKRC Congress 2008. This year an e-Poster paper (e1709) reporting on the relationship between patient cross-sectional area and CTDI in abdominal MDCT (with automatic exposure control) will be presented at UKRC in Manchester.

The image quality afforded by newer CT equipment also offers the potential to reduce patient exposure. As technology advances it becomes important to ensure that the exposure limitation potential is realised in practice, and historical dose audit can offer guidance. A study over a four year period was undertaken to determine if dose length product reductions were achieved in practice when a general CT service went through successive equipment upgrades from the same manufacturer. Results showed that upgrading the technology in itself did not automatically reduce the DLP and further work was required to optimise examinations with the aim of further dose constraint.

Framework 6, WP1 Group at Leiden Meeting, Wednesday 12th December 2007

(Back row, left to right) Koos Geleijns, Stephen Golding, Henning Ritter von Maravic, Christopher Alvey, Kostas Chlapoutakis, Alex Meijer; (Middle row, left to right) Aart van der Molen, Tilo Niemann, Karl Schneider, Veronica Alonso Ferreira, Georg Bongartz, Cesar Cordeiro Alves; (Front row, left to right) Yiannis Damilakis, Ying-Lie O, me, Alfonso Calzado Cantera.

Photograph - LUMC Medical Photography

Last modified 29th March 2009

Stuart Meeson