The purpose of this study is to estimate the organ and effective dose (E) from computed tomography coronary angiography (CTCA) on a 320-MDCT scanner. Radiation dose was estimated for the prospectively ECG-gated CTCA in a male phantom. A total of 451 chips of thermoluminescent dosimeter were implanted in the phantom for measuring the organ doses. The effective doses were calculated using measured organ doses and the tissue-weighting factors. The dose length product (DLP) values were recorded and used to develop the conversion coefficient k = 0.017 mSv•(mGy•cm)−1 (E/DLP). In a 3-beat acquisition, the organ doses ranged from 0.24 to 71.55 mGy, and the doses in breast, bone surface, oesophagus, and lung were higher than 20 mGy. The effective doses in 2-beat and 3-beat acquisition were estimated to be 14.3 and 24.3 mSv. More beats of acquisition led to higher radiation dose. The reported k values for chest CT scan can be used to roughly estimate the E value from CTCA for 320 MDCT.
The objective of this work was to evaluate the impact of environmental radioactivity in Shanghai from the operation of Qinshan Nuclear Power Station (QNPS). The levels of terrestrial gamma radiation and radioactivities in the drinking water, main food and soils in the Jinshan area where is only 38 km far away from the QNPS were continuously measured in the past 19 y. Both the levels of terrestrial gamma radiation and the radioactivities in the samples were on the normal background levels. No significant changes were found before and after the running of QNPS. The annual public exposure to the terrestrial gamma radiation was estimated to be ∼0.1 mSv, and the annual exposure from intakes of (90)Sr and (137)Cs in food was ∼0.5 μSv. In the past 19 y, no significant impact on the environmental radioactivity in Shanghai was observed due to the operation of QNPS.
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