First published online June 22, 2006
British Journal of Radiology (2006) 79, 893-899
© 2006 British Institute of Radiology
doi: 10.1259/bjr/61874578
Equivalent dose to organs and tissues in hysterosalpingography calculated with the FAX (Female Adult voXel) phantom
R Kramer, PhD
1
H J Khoury, PhD
1
C Lopes, PhD
1 and
J W Vieira, PhD
2
1 Departamento de Energia Nuclear, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Avenida Prof. Luiz Freire, 100, Cidade Universitária, CEP 50740-540, Recife, PE, 2 Escola Politécnica, UPE, Recife, PE, Brazil
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Abstract
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Hysterosalpingography (HSG) is a radiological examination indicated for investigating infertility or uterine and tubal pathologies. Women who undergo HSG are relatively young, typically between 20 years and 40 years, and equivalent doses to the ovaries are usually reported to be around 4 mSv per examination. A review of studies on patient dosimetry in HSG revealed that almost all absorbed doses to organs and tissues had been calculated with conversion coefficients (CCs) based on hermaphrodite versions of MIRD5-type phantoms. The CCs applied had been taken from data sets for abdominal or pelvic examinations because CCs for HSG examination were not available. This study uses the FAX (Female Adult voXel) phantom in order to calculate equivalent doses to radiosensitive organs and tissues especially for exposure conditions used in HSG. The calculations were also performed for the MIRD5-type EVA phantom to demonstrate the influence of anatomical differences on organ equivalent dose. The results show organ and tissue equivalent doses as a function of the variations of the exposure conditions. At 4.56 mSv the ovarian equivalent dose calculated for the FAX phantom is about 21% greater than the average ovarian equivalent dose reported in the literature, which reflects the anatomical differences between the FAX and the MIRD5-type phantoms.
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Introduction
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Hysterosalpingography (HSG), a radiological examination which delivers relatively high equivalent doses to the ovaries and the uterus, is used to examine the uterine cavity and the patency of the Fallopian tubes. Common indications for HSG are primary and secondary infertility, assessment of tubal patency following reversal of sterilization, of tubal blockage following a difficult sterilization and of the uterine cavity following division of an intrauterine septum.
Equivalent doses to the ovaries from HSG examinations are usually around 4 mSv, which triggered a series of investigations on patient dosimetry and on possibilities for the reduction of patient exposure. Table 1
summarizes typical values for the entrance surface air kerma (ESAK), including the contribution from backscattered radiation, and the equivalent dose to the ovaries reported in recent publications [1–5], in which the equivalent dose to the ovaries was calculated by multiplying the ESAK by a conversion coefficient (CC) determined by Monte Carlo methods for hermaphrodite MIRD5-type phantoms, i.e. male bodies with female organs such as ovaries, uterus and breasts [6–8].
However, during the last decade in radiological protection the mathematical MIRD5-type phantoms have increasingly been replaced by tomographic or voxel-based phantoms, which are a true-to-nature representation of the human body. The recently developed FAX (Female Adult voXel) phantom [9], together with the traditional MIRD5-type EVA phantom [10], have been selected to simulate HSG examinations in order to see the influence of the different anatomies on organ and tissue equivalent doses, and also to demonstrate the effect of varying exposure parameters, tube voltage, filtration, field size, field orientation, focus-to-film distance and projection on these doses.
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Materials and methods
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The phantoms
The recently developed FAX (Female Adult voXel) phantom has been segmented from CT images of patients [9]. Organ and tissue masses correspond to the anatomical specifications recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) in its Publication 89 for the female reference adult [11], while tissue compositions and densities are based on data published by the International Commission on Radiation Units (ICRU) in its report No. 44 [12].
The EVA phantom has been developed from the first hermaphrodite MIRD5 phantom, which already had ovaries and a uterus, by scaling down the male body to the height of the female reference adult from ICRP Publication 23 and by introducing female breasts [10]. Tissue compositions and densities of the EVA phantom have been taken from an early MIRD5 publication [13].
The EGS4 Monte Carlo code
The EGS4 Monte Carlo code [14] simulates coupled electron-photon transport through arbitrary media. The default version of EGS4 applies an analogous Monte Carlo method, which was used for the calculations of this investigation. Rayleigh scattering has been taken into account, but secondary electrons have not been transported. With respect to the simulation of radiological examinations, a special user code has been developed that outputs absorbed dose to radiosensitive organs and tissues normalized to the ESAK. The X-ray spectra have been taken from the IPEM spectra catalogue [15].
Exposure conditions
Based on a review of the exposure conditions reported in references [1–5], the following representative irradiation parameters have been identified for the simulation of the HSG examination:
X-ray generator: constant potential
Target: tungsten, 17°
Voltage: 70–120 kV at a constant potential (kVcp)
Filtration: 2.0–4.0 mm Al
Projection: anterior–posterior (AP), posterior–anterior (PA)
Field size: 18 cmx24 cm, 24 cmx30 cm in the detector plane
Field position: Centred on uterus
Focus to skin distance (FSD): 70 cm, 80 cm, 90 cm
Focus to film distance (FFD): 100 cm, 110 cm, 120 cm
Figures 1 and 2 show silhouettes of the FAX and the EVA phantoms with X-ray beams, field sizes and FFDs, the uterus in grey and the ovaries in black, respectively.
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Figure 1. The FAX phantom: hysterosalpingography (HSG) exposure set-up for field = 24 cmx30 cm and FFD = 100 cm.
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Figure 2. The EVA phantom: hysterosalpingography (HSG) exposure set-up for field = 24 cmx30 cm and FFD = 100 cm.
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Results
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The results will be presented as CCs between organ equivalent doses and the ESAK as a function of the tube voltage and the filtration. ESAK refers to the centre of the radiation field at the surface of the patient's body. As tube voltage and filtration increase, so do the CCs. However, the absolute value of the equivalent dose to organs will decrease, because increasing the tube voltage or the filtration reduces the mAs necessary for constant exposure to the detector system.
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Conversion coefficients
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Tube voltage
Figure 3 shows equivalent dose to the ovaries of the FAX and the EVA phantoms normalized to the ESAK as a function of the tube voltage for field sizes of 18 cmx24 cm, and 24 cmx30 cm, respectively. For the whole range of tube voltages, the FAX ovarian equivalent dose is ca. 25% greater than the EVA ovarian equivalent dose for the smaller field size, while for the large field this number is about 18%. The reason for the differences is the different depth at which the ovaries are located in the two phantoms – beginning at 6.5 cm depth in the FAX phantom and beginning at 8.3 cm depth in the EVA phantom.
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Figure 3. Conversion coefficient between equivalent dose to the ovaries and entrance surface air kerma as function of the tube voltage for field sizes of 18 cmx24 cm, and 24 cmx30 cm.
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The average CC between ovarian equivalent dose and ESAK in Table 1
for references [1–3] is 0.22, and for references [4, 5] it is 0.17. This should be compared with the CCs for the EVA phantom in Figure 3 for a 24 cmx30 cm field, for 80 kVcp and 70 kVcp, respectively. For the EVA phantom one finds CCs of 0.24 for 80 kVcp, and of 0.20 for 70 kVcp. These EVA CCs agree reasonably well with the CCs from Table 1, if one takes into account the differences between the real HSG examination and its simulation that is not known here, like the position of the ovaries, patient thickness, X-ray generator, filtration, etc. When the tube voltage increases from 70 kVcp to 120 kVcp, the CCs in Figure 3 increase by ca. 65% over this range of tube voltage.
Figure 4 presents CCs for the uterus as function of the tube voltage for both phantoms and the two field sizes already mentioned. The uterus equivalent dose of the EVA phantom is ca. 36% greater than the equivalent dose to the uterus of the FAX phantom over the whole range of photon energies. Again the explanation comes from different depths at which the uteri are located in the two phantoms.
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Figure 4. Conversion coefficient between equivalent dose to the uterus and entrance surface air kerma as function of the tube voltage for field sizes of 18 cmx24 cm, and 24 cmx30 cm.
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When the tube voltage increases from 70 kVcp to 120 kVcp, the CCs in Figure 4 increase by ca. 55% over this range of tube voltage.
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Filtration
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Figure 5 shows CCs for the ovaries for the two phantoms as function of the filtration for the two field sizes. When the filtration increases from 2.0 mm Al to 4.0 mm Al, the CCs in Figure 5 increase by ca. 20% over this range of filtration.
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Figure 5. Conversion coefficient between equivalent dose to the ovaries and entrance surface air kerma as function of the filtration for field sizes of 18 cmx24 cm, and 24 cmx30 cm.
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Field orientation
Taking the dimensions of the field given as widthxheight, then one can see from Table 1 that HSG examinations in Recife/Brazil are usually made with the larger field side representing the width, while the opposite is the case for the other references cited. In order to get an idea of the effect of the field orientation on the organ equivalent doses, the calculations shown so far have been repeated with the larger field side representing the field width. For the radiation fields A1 = 24 cmx18 cm, A2 = 18 cmx24 cm, B1 = 30 cmx24 cm and B2 = 24 cmx30 cm, the following results have been found for the range of tube voltages between 70 kVcp and 120 kVcp:
- Uterus – No change of the uterus equivalent dose has been found when changing the field orientation from A2 to A1, or from B2 to B1.
- Ovaries – For the FAX phantom an increase of the ovarian equivalent dose has been found to be between 5% and 8%, and between 2% and 4% for changing the field orientation from A2 to A1, and from B2 to B1, respectively.
For the EVA phantom an increase of the ovarian equivalent dose has been found between 13% and 16%, and between 4% and 6% for changing the field orientation from A2 to A1, and from B2 to B1, respectively.
Focus-to-skin distance (FSD)
Variations of the FSD between 100 cm and 120 cm did not significantly change the equivalent dose to the ovaries and the uterus.
Equivalent doses per radiograph
Although the CCs shown in Figures 3 and 4 increase with the tube voltage, the absolute equivalent dose per radiograph usually decreases with increasing tube voltage, because for constant exposure to the detector system the ESAK decreases with increasing tube voltage.
Figure 6 shows the ESAK measured with a PMMA phantom as a function of the tube voltage. The reduction is about 50% when the tube voltage increases from 70 kVcp to 80 kVcp, while for voltages above 80 kVcp the reduction is about 10–15% per 10 kVcp increase.
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Figure 6. Entrance surface air kerma per radiograph measured with a homogeneous PMMA phantom 19 cm thick as function of the tube voltage.
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Application of the ESAK data from Figure 6 to the CCs from Figures 3 and 4 provides the organ equivalent doses per radiograph shown in Figure 7, which confirm the reduction of exposure to the patient with increasing tube voltage by up to 50%.
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Figure 7. Ovarian and uterine equivalent dose per radiograph in hysterosalpingography(HSG) as function of the tube voltage.
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The influence of the projection on organ equivalent dose
In the HSG studies cited in Table 1, anterior–posterior (AP) was the most frequently used projection. However, in some countries undercouch X-ray tubes are more prevalent than overcouch ones, i.e. posterior–anterior (PA) projections dominate the HSG examinations. Therefore some of the calculations reported above for the FAX phantom have also been done for PA projection. Figure 8 presents ratios between equivalent doses for PA and AP projection for the ovaries and the uterus.
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Figure 8. Ratios between organ equivalent doses for posteroanterior(PA) and anteroposterior (AP) projection as a function of the tube voltage.
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The ratios show that using the PA projection can lead to significant equivalent dose reductions compared with the application of the AP projection. The main reason is the presence of the pelvis in the radiation field, which shields internal abdominal organs like the ovaries and the uterus from the incident photon radiation. The position of the ovaries in the frontal part of the FAX abdomen causes an additional reduction of equivalent dose because for PA incidence the ovaries are located at a greater depth. For both field sizes used in this study, the effect of equivalent dose reduction is about 60–75% for the ovaries, and about 30–43% for the uterus between 70 kVcp and 120 kVcp tube voltage.
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Equivalent dose per HSG examination with AP projection
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The results of the previous sections have shown that the CCs change with the variations of the exposure parameters. However, a tube voltage of 80 kVcp, a filtration of 3.0 mm Al, a field size of 24 cmx30 cm, a FSD of 100 cm and AP projection can be considered typical for a HSG examination. For these settings, one finds the following CCs for the FAX phantom in Figures 3 and 4:
Ovaries: 0.244 Sv Gy–1
Uterus: 0.205 Sv Gy–1
From Table 1, one can find an average ESAK of 18.7 mGy. In absolute terms, this means that for a typical HSG examination of the FAX phantom one gets:
Equivalent dose to the ovaries: 4.56 mSv
Equivalent dose to the uterus: 3.83 mSv
The average ovarian dose for the MIRD5-type phantom from Table 1 is 3.6 mSv, i.e. 21% less than the value for the FAX phantom, which is in agreement with the findings of Figure 3.
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Conclusion
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Equivalent dose to the ovaries and to the uterus was calculated with the FAX/EGS4 exposure model for HSG examinations as a function of tube voltage, filtration and FSD. The results have been compared with similar data for the MIRD5-type EVA phantom, which was often used in recent studies.
The data have shown that ovarian equivalent doses are 18–25% greater in the FAX phantom compared with the corresponding values for the EVA phantom due to a 2 cm difference between the location of this organ below the surface in the two phantoms.
For similar reasons, the uterus equivalent dose of the EVA phantoms was found to be 36% greater than the corresponding value for the FAX phantom.
As for the variation with exposure parameters, the calculations revealed an increase of 65% of the ovarian CC, and of 55% of the uterus CC for an increase of tube voltage from 70 kVcp to 120 kVcp. But as demonstrated, the absolute values of ovarian and uterus equivalent dose decrease by up to 50% when the tube voltage increases. Therefore, increasing the tube voltage is usually recommended as step to reduce the exposure to the patient. This applies also to the increase of filtration, although in absolute terms this effect was not shown here, and especially also to the choice of the PA projection.
Finally it has to be pointed out that the orientation of the field with regard to width and height can cause differences of between 2% and 15% for the organ equivalent doses discussed in this presentation.
The CCs presented can serve as a tool for patient dosimetry. If the ESAK, tube voltage, filtration and field size are known, one can multiply the ESAK by the appropriate CC from Figures 3–5 to obtain an estimate of the equivalent dose to the ovaries or to the uterus.
This work was funded by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and the Fundação de Amparo à Ciência do Estado de Pernambuco (FACEPE).
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Acknowledgments
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The authors would like to thank the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - CNPq and the Fundação de Amparo à Ciência do Estado de Pernambuco - FACEPE for the financial support.
Received for publication December 26, 2005.
Revision received April 5, 2006.
Accepted for publication April 12, 2006.
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References
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Abstract
Introduction
