Contrast dose determination using effective diameter in patients of unknown weight for dynamic computed tomography of the upper abdomen: a feasibility study
Abstract
Abstract Purpose The purpose of this study was to validate the accuracy of a method for determining the iodine contrast dose using effective diameter (D eff ) when performing dynamic computed tomography (CT) scans of the upper abdomen in patients with unknown body weight (BW). Methods D eff was measured at the heart, at the right diaphragm upper edge, and at the right pulmonary rib diaphragm levels in the localizer radiograph and axial images. Correlation coefficients between D eff and BW were determined for each cross section. Results D eff_axial and BW showed the highest correlation at the right diaphragm upper edge level in men (r S = 0.862) and at the right pulmonary rib diaphragm level in women (r S = 0.890). Conclusions The BW estimated from D eff showed a strong correlation with measured BW and may serve as a practical alternative in cases where BW is unknown.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Radiation Dose and Imaging
Advanced X-ray and CT Imaging
Cardiac Imaging and Diagnostics
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Radiological Physics and Technology
- Publisher
- Springer Science and Business Media LLC
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 399–408
- Publication date
- 19 January 2026
- Language
- EN