Estimation of Radiation Dose For Patients during Cervical Spine X-Ray Examination

Abstract

Diagnostic X-rays are useful in detecting abnormalities within the body. This Study was performed to estimate radiation dose for adult patients undergoing cervical spine X-ray examination by using enterance skin dose , in two selected centers in Sudan which use Computed Radiography (CR). The entrance skin dose (ESD) received by 50 adults (23males and 27 females) aged between 20-80 years old was measured using CALDOSE software by entering the parameters: focus-to-skin distance (FSD) in cm, the charge in mAs, the tube potential in kV . The mean ESD calculated were (1.22914 + 0.226471) mGy (0.43241+ 0.235470) mGy in center A and center B respectively. The final results showed that The ESD depends and changes with the exposure parameters (KV &mAs) and changes with weight. The ESD in the two centers is within the reference level, also Variations were observed in ESD values among hospitals under study. From this study we recommended that for all x-ray equipment should be regular maintenance and quality control tests and to standardize the exposure parameters in imaging.