REDUCING ABSORBED DOSE TO THYROID IN NECK CT EXAMINATIONS: THE EFFECTS OF SABA SHIELDING

Bi shielding has been used for the protection of radiosensitive organs during computed tomography (CT) for 20 years. In 2017, American Association of Physicists in Medicine recommended against Bi shielding due to its degrading effects on image quality. Saba shielding introduced recently protecting organs as Bi shielding without degrading image quality. In this study, the Saba shield was modified and primary radiation attenuation values of the shields and entrance skin dose (ESD) on the thyroid were measured with and without shielding. Furthermore, the quality of images obtained using Saba shielding was investigated quantitatively and qualitatively. Saba and Bi shielding reduced the ESD on the thyroid by about 50%. Saba shielding had about 5-7 HU less noise and about 51-65 HU less CT numbers shift in comparison with Bi shielding at a distance of 1 cm from the shields. Saba shielding had no degrading effects on image quality in the patient study.