Question

Which of the following parameters allows adjacent slices to be overlapped without increasing the dose to the patient?

1) Slice thickness
2) Slice interval
3) Field of view
4) Reconstruction algorithm

Answer 1

The slice interval allows for overlapping of imaging slices without increasing the patient's dose, by adjusting it to be less than the slice thickness.

Step-by-step explanation:

The parameter that allows adjacent slices to be overlapped without increasing the dose to the patient in medical imaging is the slice interval. The slice thickness refers to the actual width of the slice being imaged, whereas the slice interval defines the distance between the start of one slice and the start of the next. By adjusting the slice interval to be less than the slice thickness, overlapping can occur without increasing the exposure or dose, because the overlapping slices originate from the same data acquisition. Field of view and reconstruction algorithm do not directly facilitate overlapping slices without dose increase; the field of view is the size of the area being scanned and reconstruction algorithm is the method by which the image is created from the data collected.