Alright, the title is a little bit misleading in that I do not plan on covering the many, many, many fluoroscopic quality control tests that exist for our equipment, but I chose one that, in California, we are required to perform weekly:
Setup: Prior to testing, you should have your log book with document records available, a test phantom, and a baseline kVp and mA set by a Physicist. For the phantom, the old school method utilizes a gallon jug of water, but most prefer to use a lucite phantom.
Step 1: Place phantom on table top (or image intensifier if performing on c-arm).
Step 2: Expose live fluoro constantely until kVp and mA do not fluctuate - this should only take a few seconds at most.
Step 3: Record mA and kVp on your log and solve the following formula:
Ideally, your recorded mA and kVp should be exactly the same as the baseline reading. Our acceptable variance is <1.25 (this can vary based on preference or regional standards).
For example, if your baseline kVp was 90 and baseline mA is 1.0, this is what the equation would look like if it were exact and within :
Setup: Prior to testing, you should have your log book with document records available, a test phantom, and a baseline kVp and mA set by a Physicist. For the phantom, the old school method utilizes a gallon jug of water, but most prefer to use a lucite phantom.
Step 1: Place phantom on table top (or image intensifier if performing on c-arm).
Step 2: Expose live fluoro constantely until kVp and mA do not fluctuate - this should only take a few seconds at most.
Step 3: Record mA and kVp on your log and solve the following formula:
Ideally, your recorded mA and kVp should be exactly the same as the baseline reading. Our acceptable variance is <1.25 (this can vary based on preference or regional standards).
For example, if your baseline kVp was 90 and baseline mA is 1.0, this is what the equation would look like if it were exact and within :
An example of a fluoroscope that would be out of the acceptable variance may read 1.2 mA and 98 kVp:
In the event that variance is greater than 1.25, the test should be repeated to confirm that it is out of variance. If it still fails, a qualified engineer should service the fluoroscope and a new baseline should be acquired.
There are literally dozens of quality control tests that we can perform ourselves as technologists... what tests are you performing? Does your fluoro QC differ from this method? I would love to hear what you're doing.
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