Evaluation of Quality Control of Diagnostic Radiology Devices in Educational Imaging Centers of Birjand University of Medical Science

X-rays play an important role in medical imaging; however, exposure to radiation can also bring risks. Therefore, the quality control of diagnostic radiology devices is actually vital. Moreover, it is possible to reduce the dose received by patients and maintain the quality of the images by applying quality control programs.

Methods and Materials: 

The present study was conducted in the imaging departments of Imam Reza (AS), Valiasr (AS), and Razi hospitals in Birjand. In this study, seven quality control tests including exposure reproducibility, voltage accuracy, time accuracy, linearity of the output with respect to mA and linearity of the output with respect to s, measuring the half value layer (HVL) and matching the optical and radiation fields was performed in accordance with the standards of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. These tests have the greatest effect on the dose of patients.

The minimum and maximum error in kVp was related to rooms number 1 and 3 (emergency department) of Imam Reza hospital respectively. In addition, the error percentage in the investigated voltages was less than 5% in all the studied devices. All the devices were accepted in the tests of output reproducibility and output linearity with respect to mA and time and HVL. In the test to check the validity of the radiation time, the error observed for 2.3 and 5 milliseconds in the emergency department of Imam Reza Hospital was higher than the acceptance criteria, which needs to be corrected. Fortunately, in most of the studied devices, the amount of non-compliance of the light and beam fields was less than the acceptance criteria and it needed to be corrected in only one device.

The lack of quality control of medical imaging devices can lead to repeated irradiation, which increases both patient dose and department costs. Moreover, it potentially reduces patient satisfaction. The results of this study showed that most of the diagnostic radiography devices installed in the teaching hospitals of Birjand University of Medical Sciences have suitable conditions in terms of quality control.