Quantitative Analysis of Computed Tomography Image Acquisition Factors and Demographic Characteristics in Pediatric Brain and Head Scans

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Nouf Abuhadi

 
For citation: Abuhadi N. Quantitative Analysis of Computed Tomography Image Acquisition Factors and Demographic Characteristics in Pediatric Brain and Head Scans. International Journal of Biomedicine. 2026;16(2):187-196. doi:10.21103/Article16(2)_OA5
 
Originally published June 5, 2026

Abstract: 

Background: While computed tomography (CT) imaging is vital for diagnosing brain issues, it can expose children to unnecessary risks if not optimized. The aim of this study was to identify the key predictors of radiation dose in pediatric head and brain CT scans, including patient age, scan type, kilovoltage, and field of view (FOV), so that these assessed technical and demographic factors could be used to help radiologists develop dose-optimized protocols for pediatric populations in ways that will minimize radiation doses while maintaining diagnostic image quality.
Methods and Results: We investigated a sample of 138 patients aged 18 years or younger from a single institution who had undergone pediatric brain and head CT scans. Descriptive statistics and data visualization, including correlation tests, were initially performed to explore the data and assess the significance of relationships between the radiation dose indices (CT dose index volume [CTDIvol] and dose-length product [DLP]) and the associated predictors of radiation dose (age, scan type, peak kilovoltage [kVp], tube current, and FOV). The radiation dose indices were found to be higher for the head than for the brain CT scans, which indicated that the patients who underwent head CT were exposed to higher radiation doses. The diagnostic reference levels were set at the 75th percentile of the radiation dose indices for both test sites and age groups, as shown in the box plots. Highly significant linear relationships were found between patient age and the radiation dose indices, (CTDIvol and DLP), (P<0.000 for both), indicating that the required radiation dose tended to increase with age. In this study, the main radiation dose parameters in pediatric neuroimaging were significantly influenced by patient age, scan type, tube current, and kilovoltage. These findings underscore the critical need for age- and indication-adjusted CT protocols to minimize radiation exposure in children without compromising diagnostic utility. The most important finding of this study is the derivation of best-fit model equations for radiation dose indices using our patients' scan parameters. These equations can be used to predict (calculate) the optimal scan parameters for a single variable of the radiation dose indices, while keeping other variables constant. Insights obtained can help radiologists create safer, child-specific scanning protocols, improve radiology practices, and perform more research to minimize risks worldwide.

Keywords: 
computed tomography • children • brain scan • radiation dose
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Received March 4, 2026.
Accepted April 6, 2026.
© 2026 The Author(s). International Journal of Biomedicine is published by IMRDC.
This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license.