Table 6.
Radiation Dose and Estimated Cancer Risk Associated with Selected Spine Imaging Studies [87,100-102]
| |
|
|
|
|
|
Estimated Cancer Risk |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imaging Modality | Region | Study | Relative Radiation Level* | Estimated Effective Dose (mSv) | Equivalent # of chest x-rays | Risk coefficient (X10-4) | Risk Ratio |
|
Radiography | |||||||
| |
Chest |
PA view |
Minimal |
0.02 |
1 |
0.01 |
1 in 1,000,000 |
| |
|
Lat view |
Minimal |
0.02 |
1 |
0.01 |
1 in 1,000,000 |
| |
Cervical |
AP view |
Minimal |
0.12 |
6 |
0.06 |
1 in 180,000 |
| |
|
Lat view |
Minimal |
0.02 |
1 |
0.01 |
1 in 1,000,000 |
| |
Lumbar |
AP view |
Medium |
2.2 |
110 |
1.1 |
1 in 9,000 |
| |
|
Lat view |
Medium |
1.5 |
75 |
0.75 |
1 in 10,500 |
|
CT | |||||||
| |
Thoracic |
Whole T-spine |
High |
10 |
500 |
5.5 |
1 in 1,800 |
| |
Lumbar |
Whole L-spine |
Medium |
5.6 |
280 |
3.1 |
1 in 3,200 |
|
Tc-99 m bone scan | |||||||
| |
|
Whole body |
Medium |
3.5 |
175 |
1.9 |
1 in 5,200 |
|
FDG-PET | |||||||
| |
|
Whole Body |
Medium |
7 |
350 |
3.8 |
1 in 2,500 |
|
Bone density | |||||||
| |
QCT |
L-spine |
Minimal |
0.1 |
5 |
0.05 |
1 in 200,000 |
| |
DXA |
L-spine |
Minimal |
0.005 |
0.25 |
0.025 |
1 in 4,000,000 |
|
MRI | |||||||
| |
|
|
None |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Ultrasound | |||||||
| Abdominal | Aorta | None | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
* Relative Radiation Level: 0 mSv = None; <0.1-1 mSv = Minimal; 1–10 mSv = Medium; 10–100 = High.