Standards Documents

Professional bodies have produced Standards Documents for the various Imaging Modalities. These include recommendations for the evaluation of imaging equipment by Medical Physicists; recommendations for record keeping of quality control results; and standards for the qualifications of Physicists performing the tests.

The standards include the tests following installation and those to be performed at regular intervals throughout the life of the equipment. Test protocols are included which should allow comparison of the performance of imaging equipment.

These are some of the Standards which we use.

• ACR Standard for Diagnostic Medical Physics Performance Monitoring of Real Time B-mode Ultrasound Equipment. 1998.
• ACR Standard for Diagnostic Medical Physics Performance Monitoring of Radiographic and Fluoroscopic Equipment. 1997.
• ACR Standard for Diagnostic Medical Physics Performance Monitoring of Magnetic Resonance Imaging Equipment. 1999.
• American College of Radiology Mammography Quality Control Manual, 1999.
• CAR Standards for Performing and Interpreting Diagnostic Ultrasound Examinations. 1996.
• CAR Standards for Magnetic Resonance Imaging. 1999.
• CAR Standards for Performing and Interpreting Diagnostic CT Scans. 1994.

Based on these Standards, Imaging Physics has documented the testing we recommend as part of a Quality Assurance program.

Equipment Purchase

We are closely involved in giving technical advice to Manitoba Health and Diagnostic Imaging Departments for the purchase of new Imaging equipment. As a result, we have drawn up technical questionnaires which form part of our purchasing documentation. The aim is to compare the performance of the equipment from different manufacturers, prior to purchase. Questionnaires are available for the following systems.

For Nuclear Medicine Purchases, we use the BNMS questionnaire, available from their site.

Links are given below for a number of sites which have useful information on Standards in Diagnostic Imaging.

• American College of Radiology
• Canadian Association of Radiologists
• Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine
• American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine
• International Society of Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
• Canadian Organization of Medical Physicists/Canadian College of Physicists in Medicine
• American Association of Physicists in Medicine
• Society of Nuclear Medicine
• British Nuclear Medicine Society
• Imaging Performance Assessment of CT scanners
• Dave Clunie - DICOM information
• Australian and New Zealand Society of Nuclear Medicine
• National Electrical Manufacturers Association
• The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba
• University of Manitoba, Department of Radiology