ACPSEM position paper: recommendations for a digital general X-ray quality assurance program

Abstract

This guideline has been prepared by the ACPSEM to provide a standardised quality assurance program to be used within General X-ray imaging environments. The guideline includes the responsibilities of various multidisciplinary team members within medical imaging facilities. It must be noted that the listed tests and testing frequencies are not intended to replace or become regulatory requirements. Implementing a quality assurance program as outlined in this position paper is there to ensure best practice for imaging facilities by providing a framework to establish and monitor correct equipment performance. The current document has been produced through an extensive review of current international practices and local experience within the Australasian healthcare environment. Due to the constant evolution of digital radiographic equipment, there is no current consensus in international quality assurance guidelines as they continue to be adapted and updated. This document describes the current state of the use of digital General X-ray equipment in the Australasian environment and provides recommendations of test procedures that may be best suited for the current medical imaging climate in Australasia. Due to the everchanging developments in the medical imaging environment and the ability of new technologies to perform more complex tasks it is believed that in the future this document will be further reviewed in the hopes of producing a more globally agreed upon standard quality assurance program. Any such adjustments that are deemed to be necessary to Version 1.0 of this document will be provided in electronic format on the ACPSEM website with a notification to all parties involved in the use of digital General X-ray equipment. This guideline does not provide detailed methodologies for all the quality control tests recommended as it is it is expected that the professionals implementing aspects of this quality assurance program have the working knowledge and access to appropriate resources to develop testing methodologies appropriate for their local imaging environment.