Development of the Personalized Chinese Adult Mesh Phantom Library for Accurate Computed Tomography Dose Evaluation

Computed tomography (CT) is an indispensable tool in clinical diagnosis. However, it involves non-negligible risks associated with exposure to ionizing radiation. Accurate radiation dose assessment is essential for quantifying radiation-related risks. To enable the accurate evaluation of radiation doses in Chinese patients undergoing CT examinations, we aim to develop a Chinese Adult Mesh Phantom (CAMP) library based on the Chinese population.
Approach: Firstly, we analyze the relationships between body size and anthropometric parameters in the Chinese adult population. Secondly, anatomical contours are obtained from clinical images using both automated and manual image segmentation algorithms, and these contours are then used to construct personalized mesh phantoms. Finally, organ doses are simulated using an in-house Geant4-based CT simulation software to investigate their correlations with body size.
Main results: Compared with the Chinese anatomical reference data, the organ masses of the normal-weight phantom show discrepancies of approximately 10%. At the commonly used tube voltage of 120 kVp for clinical abdominal CT examinations, the maximum dose differences among male phantoms with different body sizes were 5.04 mGy for the liver, 8.49 mGy for the kidneys, 8.21 mGy for the spleen, and 7.92 mGy for the pancreas. The corresponding maximum dose differences were 8.48 mGy for the liver, 7.33 mGy for the kidneys, 6.73 mGy for the stomach, and 7.14 mGy for the pancreas for female phantoms.
Significance: We establish a cohort of mesh phantoms that accurately represent Chinese adults according to the linear regression relationship between body size and human parameters. The observed differences in organ doses among different phantoms further highlight the importance of developing individualized computational phantoms for Chinese adults.