A patient‐equivalent attenuation phantom for estimating patient exposures from automatic exposure controlled x‐ray examinations of the abdomen and lumbo–sacral spine

Abstract

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations requires diagnostic radiology facilities to know the approximate amount of radiation received by an average patient during radiographic examinations at the facility. Automatic exposure controlled (AEC) techniques are used for many of these exams, and a standard patient‐equivalent phantom is necessary when estimating patient exposure on such systems. This is of particular importance if exposures are to be compared among AEC systems with different entrance x‐ray spectra. We have developed a phantom, LucAl Abdomen, to facilitate determining the average patient exposure from AEC anteroposterior (AP) abdomen and lumbo–sacral (LS) spine radiography. The phantom is relatively lightweight, transportable, sturdy, and made of readily available inexpensive materials (Lucite and aluminum). It accurately simulates the primary and scatter transmission through the soft tissue and L‐4 spinal regions of a patient‐equivalent anthropomorphic phantom for x‐ray spectra typically used in abdomen/LS spine radiography. A clinical evaluation to verify the patient‐equivalence of three commercial anthropomorphic phantoms (Humanoid, Rando, 3‐M) and two acrylic/aluminum phantoms (ANSI and LucAl Abdomen) has been conducted. The design and development of the LucAl Abdomen phantom and the evaluation of all phantoms is described.