Suchergebnisse

Objectives: Review available guidance for quality assurance (QA) in mammography and discuss its contribution to harmonise practices worldwide. Methods: Literature search was performed on different sources to identify guidance documents for QA in mammography available worldwide in international bodies, healthcare providers, professional/scientific associations. The guidance documents identified were reviewed and a selection was compared for type of guidance (clinical/technical), technology and proposed QA methodologies focusing on dose and image quality (IQ) performance assessment. Results: Fourteen protocols (targeted at conventional and digital mammography) were reviewed. All included recommendations for testing acquisition, processing and display systems associated with mammographic equipment. All guidance reviewed highlighted the importance of dose assessment and testing the Automatic Exposure Control (AEC) system. Recommended tests for assessment of IQ showed variations in the proposed methodologies. Recommended testing focused on assessment of low-contrast detection, spatial resolution and noise. QC of image display is recommended following the American Association of Physicists in Medicine guidelines. Conclusions: The existing QA guidance for mammography is derived from key documents (American College of Radiology and European Union guidelines) and proposes similar tests despite the variations in detail and methodologies. Studies reported on QA data should provide detail on experimental technique to allow robust data comparison. Countries aiming to implement a mammography/QA program may select/prioritise the tests depending on available technology and resources. Main messages •An effective QA program should be practical to implement in a clinical setting. •QA should address the various stages of the imaging chain: acquisition, processing and display. •AEC system QC testing is simple to implement and provides information on equipment performance. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Objectives - Review available guidance for quality assurance (QA) in mammography and discuss its contribution to harmonise practices worldwide. Methods - Literature search was performed on different sources to identify guidance documents for QA in mammography available worldwide in international bodies, healthcare providers, professional/scientific associations. The guidance documents identified were reviewed and a selection was compared for type of guidance (clinical/technical), technology and proposed QA methodologies focusing on dose and image quality (IQ) performance assessment. Results - Fourteen protocols (targeted at conventional and digital mammography) were reviewed. All included recommendations for testing acquisition, processing and display systems associated with mammographic equipment. All guidance reviewed highlighted the importance of dose assessment and testing the Automatic Exposure Control (AEC) system. Recommended tests for assessment of IQ showed variations in the proposed methodologies. Recommended testing focused on assessment of low-contrast detection, spatial resolution and noise. QC of image display is recommended following the American Association of Physicists in Medicine guidelines. Conclusions - The existing QA guidance for mammography is derived from key documents (American College of Radiology and European Union guidelines) and proposes similar tests despite the variations in detail and methodologies. Studies reported on QA data should provide detail on experimental technique to allow robust data comparison. Countries aiming to implement a mammography/QA program may select/prioritise the tests depending on available technology and resources.

In a wide range of medical fields, technological advancements have led to an increase in the average collective dose in national populations worldwide. Periodic estimations of the average collective population dose due to medical exposure is, therefore of utmost importance, and is now mandatory in countries within the European Union (article 12 of EURATOM directive 97/43). Presented in this work is a report on the estimation of the collective dose in the Portuguese population due to nuclear medicine diagnostic procedures and the Top 20 diagnostic radiology examinations, which represent the 20 exams that contribute the most to the total collective dose in diagnostic radiology and interventional procedures in Europe. This work involved the collaboration of a multidisciplinary taskforce comprising representatives of all major Portuguese stakeholders (universities, research institutions, public and private healthcare providers, administrative services of the National Healthcare System, scientific and professional associations and private service providers). This allowed us to gather a comprehensive amount of data necessary for a robust estimation of the collective effective dose to the Portuguese population. The methodology used for data collection and dose estimation was based on European Commission recommendations, as this work was performed in the framework of the European wide Dose Datamed II project. This is the first study estimating the collective dose for the population in Portugal, considering such a wide national coverage and range of procedures and consisting of important baseline reference data. The taskforce intends to continue developing periodic collective dose estimations in the future. The estimated annual average effective dose for the Portuguese population was of 0.080±0.017 mSv caput(-1) for nuclear medicine exams and of 0.96±0.68 mSv caput(-1) for the Top 20 diagnostic radiology exams. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion