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Abstract

The radiation exposure from standalone CT in neck area might increase the thyroid cancer risk particularly in paediatric. The aim of this study is to characterize the dose received by adult and paediatric thyroid undergoing CT examination in the neck region. Two sets of Thermoluminescent dosimeters (TLD) and Optically Stimulated Luminescent Dosimeters (OSLD) were installed into a solid 3D thyroid phantom of adult and 10 years old paediatric patients, to measure the thyroid dose during neck scanning in DECT. The displayed dose quantities on the CT workstation were used for effective dose evaluation in the thyroid. In addition, CT-Expo software was used for verification purposes. The CTDIvol was very close to the absorbed dose from dosimeters inside the thyroid phantoms. The study reveals that the risk of collecting cancer later in life in the thyroid from the common CT scans in neck area is up to 192 per million children. The number is considered as low, but should not be ignored, while CT scans procedures are increasing every day.