A methodological approach for the comparison of CT systems in terms of radiation dose and image quality.

Purpose: This study aims to apply a comparative methodology for two different computed tomography (CT) scanners, by evaluating patient radiation dose and image quality.

Materials & Methods: A total of 189 consecutive non-enhanced and enhanced abdominal examinations, were performed using General Electric Revolution GSI (scanner A) and Siemens Somatom Drive (scanner B) scanners. Both protocols had been previously optimized by the same team for the two scanners, ensuring consistent image quality during comparison.

Balancing patients' benefits and risks in computed tomography: a European Society of Radiology 'EuroSafe Imaging' viewpoint.

Every physician seeks to do more good than harm. A surgeon operates with the expectation that the benefits of the operation outweigh the risks associated with the surgery, leaving the patient in a better condition than before the procedure. Radiologists provide enormous benefits for patients-identifying diseases that could not otherwise be diagnosed or staging disease severity to allow for the most appropriate treatments to be undertaken.

Digital phantom versus individualized radiation dosimetry in CT examination protocols of children and adults.

The aim of this study was to compare the organ doses estimated through individual model-based and digital phantom-based Monte Carlo (MC) methods in radiation treatment plan oriented CT examination protocols. Methods. Six physical anthropomorphic phantoms that simulate the average pediatric individual as a neonate, 1-year-old, 5-year-old, 10-year-old child and the average adult individual as a male and female adult were used.

Radiation exposure of young patients with abdominal neuroblastoma from therapeutic and imaging procedures: a phantom study.

This study calculated the radiation dose to young patients with high-risk abdominal neuroblastoma from therapeutic and imaging procedures. Computational XCAT phantoms representing typical patients aged 5-15 years were used. Intensity modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) and volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) plans were generated with 6 MV photons for a planning target volume (PTV) on the left and right abdominal side.

Current practices and perceptions on diagnostic reference levels: a EuroSafe Imaging Survey Analysis.

Despite progress in implementing diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) across Europe, clinical practices remain variable. This prompts the EuroSafe Imaging campaign to conduct a survey assessing current practices, perceptions, and challenges related to DRLs. A total of 146 responses were collected from radiology departments in 38 countries, predominantly in the EU/EEA region.

A machine learning approach for personalized breast radiation dosimetry in CT: Integrating radiomics and deep neural networks.

Purpose: To develop a machine learning-based workflow for patient-specific breast radiation dosimetry in CT.

Materials And Methods: Two hundred eighty-six chest CT examinations, with corresponding right and left breast contours, were retrospectively collected from the radiotherapy department at our institution to develop and validate breast segmentation U-Nets. Additionally, Monte Carlo simulations were performed for each CT scan to determine radiation doses to the breasts.

A qualitative, quantitative and dosimetric evaluation of a machine learning-based automatic segmentation method in treatment planning for gastric cancer.

Purpose: To investigate the performance of a machine learning-based segmentation method for treatment planning of gastric cancer.

Materials And Methods: Eighteen patients planned to be irradiated for gastric cancer were studied. The target and the surrounding organs-at-risk (OARs) were manually delineated on CT scans.

Comparison of radiation exposure from dual- and single-energy CT imaging protocols resulting in equivalent contrast-to-noise ratio of lesions for adults and children: a phantom study.

Objectives: To compare the radiation exposure from single-energy CT (SECT) against rapid kV-switching dual-energy CT (DECT) imaging in both adults and children when resulting image data offer equivalent lesion identification power.

Materials And Methods: Lesions in an adult and a 10-year-old-child body phantom were imitated using iodine solutions of different concentrations. Phantoms were subjected to several SECT and DECT thoracic and abdominal scans using a rapid kV-switching DECT scanner.

Descriptive overview of AI applications in x-ray imaging and radiotherapy.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming medical radiation applications by handling complex data, learning patterns, and making accurate predictions, leading to improved patient outcomes. This article examines the use of AI in optimising radiation doses for x-ray imaging, improving radiotherapy outcomes, and briefly addresses the benefits, challenges, and limitations of AI integration into clinical workflows. In diagnostic radiology, AI plays a pivotal role in optimising radiation exposure, reducing noise, enhancing image contrast, and lowering radiation doses, especially in high-dose procedures like computed tomography (CT).

Implementing verifiable oncological imaging by quality assurance and optimization (i‑Violin) : Protocol for a European multicenter study.

Background: Advanced imaging techniques play a pivotal role in oncology. A large variety of computed tomography (CT) scanners, scan protocols, and acquisition techniques have led to a wide range in image quality and radiation exposure. This study aims at implementing verifiable oncological imaging by quality assurance and optimization (i-Violin) through harmonizing image quality and radiation dose across Europe.

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Novel Cationic Rhenium and Technetium-99m Complexes Bearing Quinazoline Derivative for Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Targeting.

Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) plays a vital role in cell proliferation and survival, with its overexpression linked to various malignancies, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Although EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are a key therapeutic strategy, acquired resistance and relapse remain challenges. This study aimed to synthesize and evaluate novel rhenium-based complexes incorporating EGFR TKIs to enhance anticancer efficacy, particularly in radiosensitization.

A machine learning-based pipeline for multi-organ/tissue patient-specific radiation dosimetry in CT.

Objectives: To develop a machine learning-based pipeline for multi-organ/tissue personalized radiation dosimetry in CT.

Materials And Methods: For the study, 95 chest CT scans and 85 abdominal CT scans were collected retrospectively. For each CT scan, a personalized Monte Carlo (MC) simulation was carried out.

The use of Dose Management Systems in Europe: Results of an ESR EuroSafe Imaging Questionnaire.

Dose management systems (DMS) are an essential tool for quality assurance and optimising patient radiation exposure. For radiologists and medical physicists, they are important for managing many radiation protection tasks. In addition, they help fulfil the requirements of Directive 2013/59/EURATOM regarding the electronic transmission of dosimetric data and the detection of unintended patient exposures.

Support for the "Vancouver call for action to strengthen expertise in radiological protection worldwide": the position of organisations in formal relations with the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP).

The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), recently expressed concern that "a shortage of investment in training, education, research, and infrastructure seen in many sectors and countries may compromise society's ability to properly manage radiation risks" and in 2022 announced the "Vancouver call for action to strengthen expertise in radiological protection worldwide". As representatives of organisations in formal relations with ICRP, we decided to promote this position paper to declare and emphasise that strengthening the expertise in radiological protection is a collective priority for all of us.

Is deep learning-enabled real-time personalized CT dosimetry feasible using only patient images as input?

Purpose: To propose a novel deep-learning based dosimetry method that allows quick and accurate estimation of organ doses for individual patients, using only their computed tomography (CT) images as input.

Methods: Despite recent advances in medical dosimetry, personalized CT dosimetry remains a labour-intensive process. Current state-of-the-art methods utilize time-consuming Monte Carlo (MC) based simulations for individual organ dose estimation in CT.

Digital phantom versus patient-specific radiation dosimetry in adult routine thorax CT examinations.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare the organ doses assessed through a digital phantom-based and a patient specific-based dosimetric tool in adult routine thorax computed tomography (CT) examinations with reference to physical dose measurements performed in anthropomorphic phantoms.

Methods: Two Monte Carlo based dose calculation tools were used to assess organ doses in routine adult thorax CT examinations. These were a digital phantom-based dosimetry tool (NCICT, National Cancer Institute, USA) and a patient-specific individualized dosimetry tool (ImpactMC, CT Imaging GmbH, Germany).

Organ dose prediction for patients undergoing radiotherapy CBCT chest examinations using artificial intelligence.

Purpose: To propose an artificial intelligence (AI)-based method for personalized and real-time dosimetry for chest CBCT acquisitions.

Methods: CT images from 113 patients who underwent radiotherapy treatment were collected for simulating thorax examinations using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) with the Monte Carlo technique. These simulations yielded organ dose data, used to train and validate specific AI algorithms.

A fully automated machine learning-based methodology for personalized radiation dose assessment in thoracic and abdomen CT.

Purpose: To develop a machine learning-based methodology for patient-specific radiation dosimetry in thoracic and abdomen CT.

Methods: Three hundred and thirty-one thoracoabdominal radiotherapy-planning CT examinations with the respective organ/patient contours were collected retrospectively for the development and validation of segmentation 3D-UNets. Moreover, 97 diagnostic thoracic and 89 diagnostic abdomen CT examinations were collected retrospectively.

A neural network-enhanced methodology for the rapid establishment of local DRLs in interventional radiology: EVAR as a case example.

Purpose: To develop a neural network-enhanced workflow for the automatic and rapid establishment/update of local diagnostic reference levels (DRLs) in interventional radiology (IR) using endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) procedures as a case example.

Methods: Radiation dose reports were collected retrospectively for 46 consecutive EVAR procedures. These reports served as demonstrative data for the development of the proposed methodology.

Implementation and evaluation of the AAPM TG 111 for radiation dosimetry in a state-of-the-art C-arm cone beam CT system.

The aim of this study was to assess the dosimetric characteristics of a state-of-the-art C-arm cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) system using the methodology proposed by the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) Task Group (TG) 111. The dose measurement methodology described in AAPM TG 111 for wide cone beam acquisitions without table translation was employed to estimate equilibrium beam length (αeq‾) and equilibrium dose (feq‾) in various interventional task-specific protocols with different tube arc projection geometries. Dose profiles were derived from point dose measurements in the centre and peripheral locations of the ICRU/AAPM and standard polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) body phantom.

Global status of medical physics human resource - The IOMP survey report.

Purpose: Realizing the need for periodic surveys about global medical physics human resource, the International Organization for Medical Physics (IOMP) performed a third survey following the previous two (2015 and 2018). The objective was to collect information about the current numbers of medical physicists (MPs) in individual countries, about their MP training, and accreditation pathways.

Methods: The survey was designed using Google Forms.

ICRP workshop on the review and revision of the system of radiological protection: a focus on research priorities-feedback from the international community.

In September 2022, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) organised a workshop in Estoril, Portugal, on the 'Review and Revision of the System of Radiological Protection: A Focus on Research Priorities'. The workshop, which was a side event of the European Radiation Protection Week, offered an opportunity to comment on a recent paper published by ICRP on areas of research to support the System of Radiological Protection. Altogether, about 150 individuals participated in the workshop.

NTCP Calculations of Five Different Irradiation Techniques for the Treatment of Thymoma.

This study provided normal tissue complication probability (NTCP) calculations from photon radiotherapy techniques in eleven patients with thymoma. Five plans were created for each participant using three-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT), five-field intensity modulated radiotherapy (5F-IMRT), seven-field IMRT (7F-IMRT), and volumetric modulated arc therapy with full arcs (FA-VMAT) and partial arcs (PA-VMAT). The target coverage, homogeneity index and conformation number for the planning target volume (PTV) and dosimetric parameters for the organs-at-risk (OARs) were taken from the fifty-five generated plans.

European survey on the use of patient contact shielding during radiological examinations.

Objectives: Contact shielding (CS) of patients during X-ray studies has been used for decades to protect radiosensitive organs. This practice has not changed much despite increasing evidence that CS is not useful in many cases. The Gonad And Patient Shielding (GAPS) group-founded by representatives of the main European bodies involved in radiology-promoted this survey to assess the current practice of CS among European radiology departments and the attitude towards a non-shielding policy.