Dose optimization in cardiac CT.

Rapid progress in the field of Cardiac CT is fostered by the advances in CT scanner technology as well as multiple clinical trials demonstrating its role in coronary artery disease and other indications like congenital heart disease, pulmonary vein assessment and pre transcatheter aortic valve replacement. The cardiovascular imager today is responsible for delivering diagnostic image quality while striking a balance with optimized radiation dose. Radiation dose is the result of multiple scanner and patient related factors. Achieving a justifiable radiation dose according to the ALARA principle requires an adept understanding of the factors affecting radiation dose. We review different scan factors and their effect on radiation dose and present strategies for radiation dose optimization in cardiac CT.