The reduction in Monte Carlo calculated organ doses from CT with tube current modulation using WILLIAM, a voxel model of seven year-old anatomy

The construction of a voxel model of seven year-old male anatomy from a low resolution whole body CT scan acquired with a PET-CT scanner is described. The model is referred to as WILLIAM. The model was used to compare the Monte Carlo calculated relative organ doses with and without tube current modulation from simulated CAP and chest CT examinations. Tube current modulation was simulated in both the angular (x–y plane) and axial (along the z axis) senses. For organs that are located wholly within the scanned anatomy, significant relative dose reductions of approximately 43 to 62 % were calculated when tube current modulation was simulated compared to Monte Carlo calculations that did not include tube current modulation. Organs located outside of the directly irradiated anatomy, experienced a decrease in their relative dose of between 33 and 38 % when tube current modulation was simulated.