Correlation of bone density, body mass index and radiation dose in the digital radiography system

Background/Objectives: This study aims to provide the direction for reducing the exposure dose in patients by analyzing the PACS data of patients who received both lumbar spine bone mineral density & lumbar spine X-ray examination, understanding the correlation between BMD & BMI of the DR system, and mAs, finding the dose determinants, and then providing the basic data for the calculation of diagnostic reference level of Korean people.Methods/Statistical analysis: Focusing on the bone mineral density test data saved in PACS, this study researched the data of patients who received the lumbar spine X-ray within four months from the test date. The BMI and BMD were recorded through the bone mineral density image while the mAs and kVp were recorded through the bone spine X-ray image.Findings: Results of the multiple regression analysis, only the BMI showed the causality with mAs while the BMD and T-score did not have significant causality with dose.Improvements/Applications: The BMI formed the linear causality with medical exposure of patients. Therefore, if this is used as a tool for calculating the dose by the novice radiological technologists who have just started their radiographic work, it would be possible to reduce the unnecessary exposure of patients

Body mass index · Bone density · Bone mineral · Correlation · Linear regression · Lumbar · Lumbar spine · Lumbar vertebrae · Nuclear medicine · Osteoporosis · Radiography · Radiological weapon · Radiology · Statistics · Digital Radiography and Breast Imaging · Mathematics · Medicine · Radiation Dose and Imaging · Internal Medicine · Surgery