A preliminary study of the novel application of normoxic polymer gel dosimeters for the measurement of CTDI on diagnostic x-ray CT scanners

Computer tomography dose index (CTDI) is a measurement undertaken during acceptance testing and subsequent quality assurance measurements of diagnostic x-ray CT scanners for the determination of patient dose. Normoxic polymer gel dosimeters have been used for the first time to measure dose and subsequently CTDI during acceptance testing of a CT scanner and compared with the conventional ionization chamber measurement for a range of imaging protocols. The normoxic polymer gel dosimeter was additionally used to simultaneously determine slice-width dose profiles and CTDI in the transaxial plane, the measurements of which are usually determined with thermoluminescent dosimetry or film. The resulting CTDI for all slice widths calculated from the normoxic polymer gel dosimeter were within corresponding ionization chamber CTDI values. Slice-width dose-profiles full-width half-maximum values from the normoxic polymer gel dosimeter were compared to the slice sensitivity profiles and were within the tolerances of the manufacturer. Normoxic polymer gel dosimeters have been shown to be a useful device for determining CTDI and dose distributions for CT equipment, and provide additional information not possible with just the use of an ionization chamber. (c) 2005 American Association of Physicists in Medicine.