Introduction: Scoliosis is a structural deformation of the spine, characterized by three changes: the curvature of a part of the spine or the entire spine sideways, the torsion or rotation of the individual vertebrae and the rotation of the spine along the longitudinal axis. X-ray imaging of scoliosis should include the area from the base of the skull to the tip of the ilia, in the posterior-anterior (PA) projection, in order to prevent excessive radiation of sensitive organs. Purpose: The purpose of this project is to compare protocols for imaging scoliosis between radiological departments in Slovenia. Methods: The descriptive method, a survey and literature review, was used to obtain the results. We then compared the literature with the results of our survey and according to recommendations we tried to draw up the most optimal protocol for imaging scoliosis. Results: In our results section we show the findings of our survey, which was sent to all the radiological departments in Slovenia, where the whole spine is imaged for scoliosis. The results thus illustrate the various parameters by which the departmental radiology engineers image the spine for scoliosis. Discussion: With regards to our literature review, imaging of the entire spine within radiological departments of Slovenian hospitals differs the most in the use of projections. Their responses indicated that most scoliosis imaging is in the anterior-posterior (AP) projection, whereas the literature and recommendations suggest the PA projection to be a better choice, since the radiosensitive tissues are protected. The respondents use different focal point-to-pixel distances, but the distance depends on the detector system in use, the focus of the grid and the size of the space where the diagnostics are performed. Conclusion: The results of this research will enable the optimization of radiological interventions – X-ray imaging of the spine for scoliosis diagnosis, which will allow the subject to receive a lower dose of radiation in the future.
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