Analysis of Image Gently Abdominal CT Protocol With the Use of Body Phantom Adapted to the Japanese Size

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to analyze in detail the quality of abdominal CT images obtained using three protocols reported by Image Gently in 2014 (hereafter referred to as Image Gently 2014), with the use of a handmade body phantom adapted to typical body sizes of the Japanese population. Moreover, we converted the findings of Image Gently 2014 to match Japanese body sizes and referred to our converted findings as Image Gently Japan. MATERIALS AND METHODS. We scanned each phantom in a mechanical isocenter in accordance with the Image Gently 2014 abdominal imaging protocol. We changed the tube current–exposure time product per rotation from 25 to 250 mAs. The bowtie filter was set with a minimum FOV for the phantom size. We then analyzed the volume CT dose index (CTDIvol)–measured CT number curve. We then used this CT number curve to calculate the CT number recommended by Image Gently Japan for each of the designated patient ages. RESULTS. The CTDIvol-measured CT number curve showed that, as...