Challenges and optimization strategies for radiation exposure in pediatric patients during total-body PET/CT examinations
10.13491/j.issn.1004-714X.2025.04.022
- VernacularTitle:儿童患者在全身PET/CT检查中辐射暴露的挑战与优化策略
- Author:
Wenhui LIU
1
;
Yulin GUO
1
;
Yinuo SUN
1
;
Leiying CHAI
1
;
Yudong JING
1
;
Kun LI
1
Author Information
1. Department of Nuclear Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shandong First Medical University & Shandong Provincial Qianfoshan Hospital, Jinan 250014, China.
- Publication Type:ReviewArticles
- Keywords:
Pediatric patient;
Total-body PET/CT examination;
Radiation exposure;
Radiation dose optimization
- From:
Chinese Journal of Radiological Health
2025;34(4):602-606
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Total-body PET/CT, with its long axial field of view and high sensitivity detector, has shown potential for reducing the dose of radiopharmaceuticals. However, pediatric patients are significantly more sensitive to radiation and have a higher long-term cancer risk than adults, posing fundamental challenges for dose management in PET/CT examinations for these patients. In this article, the technical characteristics of total-body PET/CT and its radiation exposure status in children were systematically analyzed. The radiation exposure could be controlled by the following optimization strategies: adjusting the CT exposure parameters, optimizing the scanning mode, adding reconstruction algorithm, and reducing the injected dose of radioactive tracer. By addressing both external and internal radiation during the PET/CT scanning process, the overall radiation dose received by pediatric patients can be reduced within a certain range. In addition, this article also discusses the technical differences between “total-body” and “whole-body” concepts, and emphasizes that the future optimization of radiation dose in pediatric PET/CT should be realized by integration of personalized scanning protocols. Through reasonable management of scanning protocols and processes, low-dose and high-quality PET/CT imaging can be achieved in clinical environments, thus maximizing protection of pediatric patient health while minimizing the risks associated with ionizing radiation exposure.
