Effective dose by medical imaging type
Target organs Exam type Effective dose in adults[1] Equivalent time of background radiation[1]
CT of the head Single series 2 mSv 8 months
With + without radiocontrast 4 mSv 16 months
Chest CT of the chest 7 mSv 2 years
CT of the chest, lung cancer screening protocol 1.5 mSv 6 months
Chest X-ray 0.1 mSv 10 days
Heart Coronary CT angiography 12 mSv 4 years
Coronary CT calcium scan 3 mSv 1 year
Abdominal CT of abdomen and pelvis 10 mSv 3 years
CT of abdomen and pelvis, low dose protocol 3 mSv[2] 1 year
CT of abdomen and pelvis, with + without radiocontrast 20 mSv 7 years
CT Colonography 6 mSv 2 years
Intravenous pyelogram 3 mSv 1 year
Upper gastrointestinal series 6 mSv 2 years
Lower gastrointestinal series 8 mSv 3 years
Spine Spine X-ray 1.5 mSv 6 months
CT of the spine 6 mSv 2 years
Extremities X-ray of extremity 0.001 mSv 3 hours
Lower extremity CT angiography 0.3 - 1.6 mSv[3] 5 weeks - 6 months
Dental X-ray 0.005 mSv 1 day
DEXA (bone density) 0.001 mSv 3 hours
PET-CT combination 25 mSv 8 years
Mammography 0.4 mSv 7 weeks
  1. ^ a b Unless otherwise specified in boxes, reference is:
    - "Radiation Dose in X-Ray and CT Exams". RadiologyInfo.org by Radiological Society of North America. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
  2. ^ Brisbane, Wayne; Bailey, Michael R.; Sorensen, Mathew D. (2016). "An overview of kidney stone imaging techniques". Nature Reviews Urology (Review article). 13 (11). Springer Nature: 654–662. doi:10.1038/nrurol.2016.154. ISSN 1759-4812. PMC 5443345. PMID 27578040.
  3. ^ Zhang, Zhuoli; Qi, Li; Meinel, Felix G.; Zhou, Chang Sheng; Zhao, Yan E.; Schoepf, U. Joseph; Zhang, Long Jiang; Lu, Guang Ming (2014). "Image Quality and Radiation Dose of Lower Extremity CT Angiography Using 70 kVp, High Pitch Acquisition and Sinogram-Affirmed Iterative Reconstruction". PLOS ONE. 9 (6): e99112. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...999112Q. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0099112. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 4051648. PMID 24915439.
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