QC Flashcards
What is QC?
Quality Control
Testing technical performance of imaging equipment
What is QA?
Quality Assurance
Upholds accuracy, consistency, efficiency, and safety of healthcare delivery
Which QC tests are performed daily?
- Tube warm-up
- Air calibration
- Visual/environmental inspection
Which QC tests are performed weekly?
- CT number accuracy of water
- Noise
- Uniformity
- CT number accuracy of materials
Which QC tests are performed monthly?
- Linearity of CT numbers
- Image slice thickness
Which QC tests are performed quarterly?
- Spatial resolution
- Safety light
- Interlock
What is QC testing for tube warmup?
- Lock the scan room door
- Follow manufacturer warmup procedure
- Repeat if the scanner is left unused for an extended period of time
What is QC testing for air calibration?
- Lock the scan room door
- Ensure nothing is left in the bore of the gantry
- Follow manufacturer procedure
What is the linear attenuation coefficient?
Measure of the quantity of radiation absorbed per cm of material
Represented by u
What is QC testing for CT number accuracy of water?
- Scan the water phantom with a standard axial head protocol and a standard axial body protocol
- Place a large ROI on the image and record the mean CT number
The number must be 0 (+ or - 4 HU)
What is QC testing for CT image noise?
- Scan a WATER PHANTOM with a typical axial head protocol and axial body protocol
- Place an ROI of 40% of the diameter of the uniform phantom image
- Record the CT number standard deviation
Should not deviate more than 10% or 0.2 HU
What is QC testing for CT number uniformity?
- Scan a WATER PHANTOM with an axial head and body protocol
- Place 5 ROI around the image (10% of the diameter)
- Calculate the biggest difference between the central ROI and the side
Uniformity should not be greater than 2 HU in difference
What is QC testing for CT number accuracy of materials?
- Scan the PHANTOM WITH RANDOM MATERIALS with clinically used volatile settings
- Place a large ROI over each material and record the mean CT number
What is QC testing for CT number linearity?
Compare the CT number against the LAC on a graph
What is QC testing for image slice thickness testing?
Use a slice thickness line phantom and record how many lines you can distinguish