Experience With Patient Dosimetry and Quality Control Online for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology Using DICOM Services

OBJECTIVE. This article describes the different automatic approaches used to collect and process patient dose values and other procedural data during diagnostic and interventional radiology and discusses their benefits for clinical practice and quality control online. Approaches for automatic processing of patient dose and other procedural data for computed radiography and for flat-panel detectors extracting information from DICOM headers or via DICOM services are described. The method to perform image retake analysis is also discussed. CONCLUSION. Automatic systems to manage patient doses and procedural data are feasible and will improve radiation safety and quality in radiology. The current level of technology makes such systems achievable at a reasonable cost and with great benefit to clinical practice.