12. Summary of Recommendations

Sections 4–9 discuss matters pertaining to radiation dosimetry, and recommendations associated with each of these Sections will be provided here in order. In the discussion below, the term acceptance testing refers to the initial measurements performed on a newly installed CT scanner, usually prior to clinical use. Quality assurance is the process of periodic evaluation of a CT scanner, and is often performed annually or after a major service event (such as an x-ray-tube change). For dosimetry in CT, many Monte Carlo and other studies describe the absorbed dose in a particular organ or site (e.g., liver, bladder, fetus) as a function of air kerma at the isocenter of the scanner. When cast in this manner, the dose coefficients take on the units of absorbed dose per air kerma, typically in units of mGy/mGy.