Journal of Radiation Protection and Research

The Korean Association for Radiation Protection (대한방사선방어학회)
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Radiation Dose from Computed Tomography Scans for Korean Pediatric and Adult Patients

  • Won, Tristan (Winston Churchill High School) ;
  • Lee, Ae-Kyoung (Radio & Satellite Research Division, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute) ;
  • Choi, Hyung-do (Radio & Satellite Research Division, Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute) ;
  • Lee, Choonsik (Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health)
  • Received : 2021.01.06
  • Accepted : 2021.03.03
  • Published : 2021.09.30
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Abstract

Background: In recent events of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, computed tomography (CT) scans are being globally used as a complement to the reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests. It will be important to be aware of major organ dose levels, which are more relevant quantity to derive potential long-term adverse effect, for Korean pediatric and adult patients undergoing CT for COVID-19. Materials and Methods: We calculated organ dose conversion coefficients for Korean pediatric and adult CT patients directly from Korean pediatric and adult computational phantoms combined with Monte Carlo radiation transport techniques. We then estimated major organ doses delivered to the Korean child and adult patients undergoing CT for COVID-19 combining the dose conversion coefficients and the international survey data. We also compared our Korean dose conversion coefficients with those from Caucasian reference pediatric and adult phantoms. Results and Discussion: Based on the dose conversion coefficients we established in this study and the international survey data of COVID-19-related CT scans, we found that Korean 7-year-old child and adult males may receive about 4-32 mGy and 3-21 mGy of lung dose, respectively. We learned that the lung dose conversion coefficient for the Korean child phantom was up to 1.5-fold greater than that for the Korean adult phantom. We also found no substantial difference in dose conversion coefficients between Korean and Caucasian phantoms. Conclusion: We estimated radiation dose delivered to the Korean child and adult phantoms undergoing COVID-19-related CT examinations. The dose conversion coefficients derived for different CT scan types can be also used universally for other dosimetry studies concerning Korean CT scans. We also confirmed that the Caucasian-based CT organ dose calculation tools may be used for the Korean population with reasonable accuracy.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This research was partially funded by the MSIP (Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning), Korea in the ICT R&D Program 2013, and by the intramural research program of the National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics. The contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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