Comparison of calcium scoring between 64-multidetector computed tomography and 320-multidetector computed tomography using a cardiac phantom: Achieving consistent image quality with dose optimization

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between radiation dose and noise level on various coronary calcium scoring protocols between 64-multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) and 320-MDCT. The cardiac QRM phantoms (1 small size and 1 medium size) were used in this study. Lower-dose imaging protocols were proposed for optimization with the parameters of 120 kVp and 10 mAs for small-size phantom (0.336 mSv) in 64-MDCT imaging and small-size phantom (0.2 mSv) in 320-MDCT case, and 120 kVp and 80 mAs for medium-size phantom (2.73 mSv) in 64-MDCT imaging and medium-size phantom (1.58 mSv) in 320-MDCT case. Our results suggest that people can apply lower-dose protocols in the clinical use for early diagnosis of coronary disease without sacrificing diagnostic accuracy.