Assessment of Radiation Dose and Image Quality in Non-Contrast Head Computed Tomography: A Comparative Analysis Between 16-Slice and 32-Slice Multidetector Computed Tomography Scanners

Objectives Computed tomography (CT) has undergone rapid advancements over the past few decades, the main reason for which is the reduction of radiation dose and the improvement of image quality. We aimed to compare the radiation dose and image quality of 16-slice and 32-slice CT scanners using noise, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). Material and Methods This retrospective study utilised data from 16- and 32-slice CT scanners from different imaging centers. The dose length product (DLP) value for CT plain brain was used to calculate the effective dose (ED) to compare the radiation dose values. Quantitative assessment of image quality was done using the region-of-interest (ROI) from distinct regions on the axial brain images. The image noise, SNR, and CNR were calculated and correlated with ED. Results The ED for the 16-slice CT was 1.46 mSv, while the ED for the 32-slice CT was 2.37 mSv. Moreover, higher quality images in terms of SNR and CNR were observed with the use of the 16-slice CT scanner compared to the 32-slice CT scanner. However, no correlation was observed between ED and noise. Conclusion This study concluded that the 16-slice CT scanner provides a safer choice for non-enhanced head CT with lower radiation exposure and produces improved image quality in terms of SNR and CNR than the 32-slice CT scanner; however, the use of reconstruction techniques like Adaptive Iterative Dose Reduction 3D (AIDR) reconstruction algorithm in the 16-slice CT scanner provides superior image quality and reduced radiation dose than the 32-slice CT scanner with the filtered back projection (FBP) technique.