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- Title
Effect of comfort pads and incubator design on neonatal radiography.
- Authors
Jiang, Xia; Baad, Michael; Reiser, Ingrid; Feinstein, Kate; Lu, Zhengfeng; Feinstein, Kate A
- Abstract
<bold>Background: </bold>There has been increasing interest in patient dose reduction in neonatal intensive care units. Removing comfort pads for radiography has been identified as a potential means to decrease patient dose.<bold>Objective: </bold>To assess the effect of comfort pads and support trays on detector entrance exposure (DEE) and image quality for neonatal radiography, and its implication for patient dose.<bold>Materials and Methods: </bold>Comfort pads and support trays from three incubator and warmer systems were examined. The attenuation of the primary beam by these structures was measured using a narrow beam geometry. Their effect on DEE and image quality was then assessed using typical neonatal chest radiography techniques with three configurations: 1) both the comfort pad and support included in the beam, 2) only the support tray included and 3) both the comfort pad and support tray removed.<bold>Results: </bold>Comfort pads and support trays were found to attenuate the primary beam by 6-15%. Eliminating these structures from the X-ray beam's path was found to increase the detector entrance exposure by 28-36% and increase contrast-to-noise ratio by more than 21%, suggesting room for patient dose reduction when the same image quality is maintained.<bold>Conclusion: </bold>Comfort pads and tray support devices can have a considerable effect on DEE and image quality, with large variations among different incubator designs. Positioning the image detector directly underneath neonatal patients for radiography is a potential means for patient dose reduction. However, such benefit should be weighed against the risks of moving the patient.
- Subjects
RADIOGRAPHY; INFANT incubators; NEWBORN infants; DIAGNOSTIC imaging; MEDICAL digital radiography; BEDDING; COMPARATIVE studies; COMPUTED tomography; HEALTH; RESEARCH methodology; MEDICAL cooperation; PATIENT positioning; RADIATION; RADIATION doses; RESEARCH; RESEARCH evaluation; PRODUCT design; EVALUATION research; MEDICAL equipment reliability; EQUIPMENT &; supplies
- Publication
Pediatric Radiology, 2016, Vol 46, Issue 1, p112
- ISSN
0301-0449
- Publication type
journal article
- DOI
10.1007/s00247-015-3450-5