Risks of using CT Scan

A CT scan can deliver doses of

ionizing radiation at least 50 to 250
times greater than a traditional Xray, found a report published last
November in the
New England Journal of Medicineby
researchers David Brenner and Eric
Hall of
Columbia University Medical Center
.As a point of comparison, a CT scan

 Radiation is measured in units called millisieverts

(mSv). Different types of CT scan usedifferent
amounts of radiation:
CT scan of the head 1.4 mSv, which
corresponds to seven-and-a-half months' worth
of background radiation
CT scan of the chest 6.6 mSv, or three years'
worth of background radiation
CT scan of the whole body 10 mSv, which
corresponds to four-and-a-half years' worth of
background radiation

 CT scans, like other X-ray-imaging

exams, involve a brief, targeted
exposure to a small amount of
ionizing radiation.
CT scans may slightly increase your
risk of developing cancer, although
at the low doses used with CT, the
risk is very small so small that it's
difficult to prove that any risk
actually exists.

 CT scans aren't
usuallyrecommended for pregnant
women because there's a small risk
that theX-raysmay harm the unborn
child.
Children are at greater risk from a
build-up of radiation than adults.
They should only have a CT scan if
it's justified by a serious condition
that risks their health.

Advancements in CT Scan
Breakthroughs in Technology

 After an initial period of rapid

development, CT technology quickly
matured and it was not until the
early 1990s that CT research began
anew. Recent advances in CT include
multirow detectors and spiral
scanning.

Multirow and Spiral

Scanning
Multirow scanning allows for the
acquisition of several cross-sectional
slices at the same time, reducing
scanning times. Today's state-of-theart scanners have 64 rows of
detectors.
Spiral (helical) scanning incorporates
a moving table with the rotating Xray tube, with the net effect that the
X-ray tube describes a helical path

ELECTRON-BEAM CT
Electron beam tomography(EBT) is a
specific form ofcomputed
tomography(CAT or CT) in which theXray tubeis not mechanically spun in order
to rotate the source ofX-rayphotons.
This type had a major advantage since
sweep speeds can be much faster,
allowing for less blurry imaging of moving
structures, such as the heart and arteries.

Electron Beam CT

The Future of CT Scan

According to Us

Our envisioned future for CT

Scan