Many recent studies focused on the patient’s safety from the administration of gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs), their concentration, the dose of administration and their effects on the image quality. The present study was aimed at evaluating the effects of reduced GBCAs (gadobutrol and gadoterate meglumine) volume on the image quality by using phantoms. Eight (8) human brain mimicking phantom made of nickel chloride (NiCl2) doped agarose gel were added with 0.00500 ml (100% volume), 0.00350 ml (75% volume), 0.00250 ml (50% volume) and 0.00125 ml (25% volume) of gadobutrol, 0.0100 ml (100% volume), 0.0075 ml (75% volume), 0.0050 ml (50% volume) and 0.0025 ml (25% volume) of gadoterate meglumine. The phantoms were scanned using a 1.5-T and a 3 T-MRI system. Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the contrast agents enhancement were evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively. The 50% volume of gadobutrol and gadoterate meglumine at 3 T showed greater enhancement when compared with 50% and 100% volumes of gadobutrol and gadoterate meglumine at 1.5 T. It can be concluded that the volume of gadobutrol and gadoterate meglumine contrast agents can be reduced when using a higher field system
We compared the effectiveness of different types of non-commercial neutral oral contrast agents for bowel distension and mural visualisation in computed tomographic (CT) enterography.
The objectives of this study are to assess pediatric radiation exposure in certain barium studies and to quantify the organ and effective doses and radiation risk resultant from patients' irradiation. A total of 69 pediatric barium studies for upper and lower gastrointestinal tract. Patients' radiation dose was quantified in terms of Entrance surface air kerma (ESAKs) using exposure parameters and DosCal software. Organ and effective doses (E) were extrapolated using national Radiological Protection Board software (NRPB-R279). The mean ± (SD) and the range of patient doses per procedure were 3.7 ± 0.4 (1.0-13.0)mGy, 7.4 ± 1.7(5.5-8.0)mGy and 1.4 ± 0.9 (0.5-3.6)mGy for barium meal, swallow and enema, respectively. The mean effective doses were 0.3 ± 0.03 (0.08-1.1)mSv, 0.2 ± 1.6 (0.44-0.7)mSv and 0.3 ± 0.9 (0.1-0.8)mSv at the same order. The radiation dose were higher compared to previous studies. Therefore, pediatrics are exposed to avoidable radiation exposure. Certain optimization measures are recommended along with establishing national diagnostic reference level (DRL) to reduce the radiation risk.