Unit 5: QA and QC Flashcards
What is the Joint Commission?
accrediting organization where necessary quality measures are taken in healthcare
why are quality measures necessary in healthcare?
to improve pt care and provide a high quality of service so pts will return
What is quality assurance?
program of observing and assessing the varying aspects of a project, service, or facility to ensure quality standards are achieved
What is the focus of QA?
the people and the services they provide (pt scheduling, reception, exam, exam time, reports, image interpretation)
the process of QA should be observed at __________ to verify the process continues to meet standards
intervals
what is quality control?
set of activities that monitor and maintain systems that produce a product (equipment, instrumentation)
JCAHO will not accredit a hospital if they don’t have a viable
QC program
list the three categories of QC:
acceptance testing
preventive maintenance (PM)
error maintenance
describe acceptance testing:
when should it be met?
testing on new or majorly upgraded equipment prior to and during installation
before final payment will be made
acceptance should be done by a team of what?
a dpt or business admin, PACS representative, medical physicist and designated tech
describe preventive maintenance (PM):
when are they usually scheduled?
maintenance performed on the equipment to verify if it is functioning properly
6 months or 1 year
who performs preventative maintenance?
a service engineer or a medical physicist or tech
describe error maintenance:
corrective action required when equipment fails
many facilities prefer to have service ________ in place to ensure timely response during _____________ as well as to cover unexpected ______ _________.
contract; downtimes; cost repairs
describe continuous quality control:
all levels of people in an organization must participate for any process improvement to be successful
define display workstation
any computer that a healthcare worker uses to view digital images
what kind of monitor is market leader due to decreased price and size, increased quality, and lack of heat production?
LCD
what is considered the weakest link in the chain of digital imaging?
the monitor
quality control standards are regulated by the ______ to ensure quality in any imaging system
ACR
what are the three defined areas of a digital image?
contrast resolution
spatial resolution
noise
to check for image quality and appearance and geometric distortion-look use the:
diagnostic test pattern
what is luminance?
what is it measured in?
light coming from monitor
candela/square meter
what is ambient light?
any other light source not coming from the monitor
what is a photometer?
device that measures luminance of the monitor
for resolution, evaluate the patterns at:
the center and corners of the pattern
what is luminance response?
a baseline luminance reading with monitor powered on and off
what is luminance dependency?
luminance readings are taken at ____ points on monitor and should be within ______ of each other
observation of uniformity with test patters
5; 30%
imaging departments plan to periodically backup archived files:
archiving plan
what is system uptime?
monitoring of how long the system is down for any reason that is logged
what is a super user?
user trained on all aspects of the system and can make facility specific changes after the vendor has left
what is total quality management?
it includes maintenance of:
evaluation of the overall efficiency and effectiveness of an imaging system (all aspects of CQI, QC, and QA)
equipment, image acquisition, and processing standards
what are some daily/weekly QC duties for CR?
inspect CR reader by looking at air flow vents, make sure space is available and vents aren’t blocked, dusting procedure
What are some daily/weekly QC duties for technologist workstations?
inspect screen, mouse, and keyboard and clean if needed
Describe Reject Analysis:
examination of repeat exposure so data can be gathered for the repeat reason, tech performing the study, and number of rejects
what are reasons to repeat and image?
positioning, overexposed, underexposed, motion, collimation, artifact, no exposure, equipment failure
What are NOT reasons to repeat an image?
wrong exam selection (body part), no marker, wrong accession number, wrong pt name selected
who is responsible for maintaining the mechanics of the equipment?
service engineer QC
What is preventative maintenance?
testing for accuracy and reproducibility and inspection of the x-ray generator, tube and calibration, and processor
what is the role of the medical physicist within a radiology dpt?
perform annual or semiannual testing on all radiation producing equipment
help establish guidelines in digital imaging
what is the required filtration for radiographic and fluoro tubes operated at 70 kVp or above?
for mammo tubes?
2.5 mm Al equiv
0.5 mm Al equiv
what can be used to evaluate HVL?
aluminum sheets
what is a roentgen meter?
meter that assesses HVL
collimation must not exceed ______ of associated light field for a chosen SID.
this is performed:
+ or - 2%
semiannually
what are the tools used to test the EFS?
pin hole camera
star test pattern
line pair resolution tool
for an EFS smaller than 0.3 mm, use the:
for an EFS larger than 0.3 mm, use the:
star test pattern
pin hole camera
for focal spot resolution, use the:
line pair resolution tool
what is the tolerance from the stated focal spot size and the measured focal spot size?
40-50%
What is the tolerance from the stated kVp during a QC test for standard radiography and mammo?
stated: + or - 5% of kVp selected
mammo: + or - 1 kVp
How do we test for timer accuracy and how often?
a spinning top or digital timer tester
annually
what sort of tolerance is allowed for stated exposure time?
+ or - 5%
What are back up exposure standards for AEC?
must terminate at 6 secs or 600 mAs
define exposure (mA) linearity:
what is the tolerance for radiation detector sensitivy?
when should it be tested?
ability of a system to produce a constant radiation output for multiple combinations of mA and exposure time;
+ or - 10%;
annually
define exposure reproducibility:
what is the tolerance?
exposing the same technique 5-10 times and measuring the radiation output from each exposure;
+ or - 5%
how do we test for mA linearity and reproducibility?
roentgen meter
What is the minimum SSD for stationary and mobile fluoroscopy?
stationary: 15”
mobile: 12”
What is the max exposure per min during fluoro?
0.38 mGy
what is a penetrometer used for?
to demonstrate changes in contrast with varying kVp
Which agency is in charge of making sure the manufacturing of imaging equipment is up to required standards?
the average total annual exposure to humans is about ____ mSv per year from natural resources
3.6
ALARA use:
high kVp, low mAs
smallest field size
shielding
proper filtration
max annual dose is:
max annual limit for eye lens is:
all other body parts is:
50 mSv
150 mSv
500 mSv
Cardinal Principles of Radiation Protection:
reduce time
max distance
max shielding
