Acceptance testing and QA of interventional cardiology systems.
Interventional cardiology (IC) is a rapidly growing field of medical specialisation. Such procedures are complex and may subject patients and operators to higher levels of risk than those encountered in general radiology. Acceptance testing and quality assurance (QA) of radiological equipment, including IC equipment, is a requirement of the EU Medical Exposures Directive (MED) (97/43/EURATOM). In addition, the MED identifies interventional radiology as an area of special concern. This study presents the results of a survey of 17 IC systems (including several flat panel detector systems) in Irish hospitals. The results of the survey indicate large differences in patient doses between manufacturers for equivalent levels of measured image quality. In addition, all systems were found to have failed one or more acceptance tests, with 60% of systems demonstrating significant problems at acceptance testing. The results of the survey demonstrate the importance of acceptance testing and QA in IC. The results also provide baseline data, which may be used in the development of future QA guidelines.
Dowling
A
A
Department of Medical Physics and Bioengineering, St. James's Hospital, Dublin, Ireland. adowling@stjames.ie
Gallagher
A
A
O'Connor
U
U
Larkin
A
A
Gorman
D
D
Gray
L
L
Malone
J
J
D002309:Cardiology / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000592:standards*; D003625:Data Collection; D005471:Fluoroscopy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011856:Radiographic Image Enhancement; D015642:Radiology, Interventional / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*