Gonadal shielding is currently the standard of care in most radiology practices with gonadal shielding occurring many times throughout the day in practices worldwide. Currently, the utility of gonadal shielding is being widely debated. The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) recently published a policy recommending the discontinuation of shielding which was then endorsed by the American College of Radiology (ACR). However, other professional societies as well as many state regulations still recommend the use of gonadal shielding. This educational exhibit will outline the benefits as well as the risks involved in gonadal shielding that are currently being debated. It will also include how to identify the various imaging artifacts which can result from gonadal shielding. We will then discuss the best practices we use at our institution for gonadal shielding, including how to work closely with our radiology technologist colleagues to reduce artifact and radiation dose in order to help mitigate the negative consequences of gonadal shielding while maximizing the benefits. Read More

Meeting name: SPR 2020 Annual Meeting & Postgraduate Course , 2020

Authors: Sellers Emily, Marshall Emily, Lu Zheng Feng, Reiser Ingrid, Ong Seng, Feinstein Kate

Keywords: Shielding, Radiation

Global mAs reduction is accepted as being superior to bismuth breast shields in reducing breast organ dose for children undergoing CT of the chest. However, in imaging of chest, abdomen, and pelvis (CAP), globally reducing mAs degrades image quality in the abdomen and pelvis. This study compares bismuth shields to global mAs reduction including a region-specific boost feature to maintain abdominal image quality. Read More

Meeting name: SPR 2019 Annual Meeting & Postgraduate Course , 2019

Authors: Finkle Joshua, Marshall Emily, Reiser Ingrid, Zhang Yue, Lu Zheng Feng, Jones Anji, Feinstein Kate

Keywords: Bismuth breast shields, CT dose