David A. Zamora BEng, MS, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

Jeffrey David Robinson MD, Presenter: Consultant, HealthHelp, LLC President, Clear Review, Inc

Kalpana M. Kanal PhD, Abstract Co-Author: Nothing to Disclose

TEV analysis of DIR data has focused dose reduction efforts on specific exams that yield the greatest clinical benefit to the patient population.

The American College of Radiology Dose Index Registry (DIR) serves as a repository for dose metrics (CTDIvol, SSDE, and DLP) from hospitals around the country and provides summary data analysis. A proposed metric, the Total Exposure Variance (TEV) was calculated for each of the most frequently performed exams at our institution. TEV was calculated per exam as the product of exam frequency (N) and the difference between our institutional and national median dose (CTDIvol or SSDE). TEV was then used as an indicator of total population dose in excess of national median values. Based on TEV calculated from SSDE, two particular exams were identified in the 2012 DIR report for potential improvement: 1) CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA), which had CT dose between the median and third quartile; and, 2) CT thoracic angiography (CTTA), optimized for the aorta, which had CT dose in the top quartile. The purpose of this work is to illustrate the clinical utility of TEV analysis to reduce population dose when applied to national benchmark CT dose data.

Zamora, D, Robinson, J, Kanal, K, Targeted CT Dose Reduction Using a Novel Dose Metric and the ACR Dose Index Registry: Application to Thoracic CT Angiography.  Radiological Society of North America 2014 Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting, - ,Chicago IL. http://archive.rsna.org/2014/14045528.html