Table 1 Effective and organ doses for DXA and spine radiographs
Examination Effective dose (mSv) Organ dose (mGy) Relevant organs
Adult spine DXA 0.013 0.003 BM, ovaries
Adult hip DXA 0.009 0.005 LLI
Paediatric spine DXA 0.027 0.008 Ovaries
(5-year-old child, scan length 11.7 cm) 0.007 Stomach
Paediatric hip DXA 0.022 0.015 Testes
(5-year-old child, scan length 9.0 cm) 0.009 LLI
Paediatric spine DXA 0.021 0.006 Ovaries
(10-year-old child, scan length 14.5 cm) 0.005 Stomach
Paediatric hip DXA 0.018 0.010 Testes
(10-year-old child, scan length 12.4 cm) 0.008 LLI
Thoracic spine AP radiograph 0.4 0.8 Lungs
Thoracic spine LAT radiograph 0.3 1.2 Lungs
Lumbar spine AP radiograph 0.7 2.5 Stomach
Lumbar spine LAT radiograph 0.3 2.3 Liver
Paediatric doses are given for scans lengths adjusted to the size of the child’s body
AP anterior-posterior, LAT lateral, BM bone marrow, LLI lower large intestine