Patient size matters: Effect of tube current modulation on size‐specific dose estimates (SSDE) and image quality in low‐dose lung cancer screening CT

PURPOSE: We compare the effect of tube current modulation (TCM) and fixed tube current (FTC) on size‐specific dose estimates (SSDE) and image quality in lung cancer screening with low‐dose CT (LDCT) for patients of all sizes. METHODS: Initially, 107 lung screening examinations were performed using FTC, which satisfied the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' volumetric CT dose index (CTDI(vol)) limit of 3.0 mGy for standard‐sized patients. Following protocol modification, 287 examinations were performed using TCM. Patient size and examination parameters were collected and water‐equivalent diameter (D(w)) and SSDE were determined for each patient. Regression models were used to correlate CTDI(vol) and SSDE with D(w). Objective and subjective image quality were measured in 20 patients who had consecutive annual screenings with both FTC and TCM. RESULTS: CTDI(vol) was 2.3 mGy for all FTC scans and increased exponentially with D(w) (range = 0.96–4.50 mGy, R(2) = 0.73) for TCM scans. As patient D(w) increased, SSDE decreased for FTC examinations (R(2) = 1) and increased for TCM examinations (R(2) = 0.54). Image quality measurements were superior with FTC for smaller sized patients and with TCM for larger sized patients (R(2) > 0.5, P < 0.005). Radiologist graded all images acceptable for diagnostic evaluation of lung cancer screening. CONCLUSION: Although FTC protocol offered a consistently low CTDI(vol) for all patients, it yielded unnecessarily high SSDE for small patients and increased image noise for large patients. Lung cancer screening with LDCT using TCM produces radiation doses that are appropriately reduced for small patients and increased for large patients with diagnostic image quality for all patients.