Radiation Exposures
Montalescol et al
EHJ 2013

The Biologic Effects of Ionizing Radiation Report (BEIR VII report) published in 2006 used 100 milliSieverts (mSv) exposure as the threshold for low dose

• ultra-low radiation exposure
  •  100 milliSieverts (mSv) exposure as the threshold for low dose
    • current  clinical coronary CTA
      • 1-10 mSv
      • exams at 10 to 100 times lower exposure
      • comparable to the average annual exposure in the US from natural sources (3 mSv).

This level of exposure is significantly less than that historically
required to perform nuclear myocardial perfusion imaging (15-60 mSv) or invasive angiography, and coronary CTA is a non-invasive alternative to invasive coronary angiography (ICA).

 

Dose Reduction Strategies

•  electrocardiography (ECG)–triggered axial acquisition,
• tube current modulation,
• low tube potential selection, and
• iterative reconstruction techniques,

Links and References

Achenbach S, Marwan M, Ropers D, et al. Coronary computed tomography angiography with a consistent dose below 1 mSv using prospectively electrocardiogram-triggered high-pitch spiral acquisition. Eur Heart J 2010;31(3):340–346.

Meinel et al Radiation Risks CV Imaging Circ 2014 PDF