Advanced QA protocols: use and development.

Advanced QA protocols: use and development. Going beyond existing or outdated QC standards. 18-22 Noviembre 2019. Lovaina (Bélgica). Fase online: desde 1 septiembre 2019.

This EUTEMPE-RX module aims to develop the necessary knowledge, skills and competences for medical physics experts involved with Quality Assurance in Radiology. In many countries, national or international protocols are available for a wide range of common imaging systems that can be used to verify whether these devices fulfil (minimal) acceptability criteria. This module aims for a better assessment, namely the Assurance of Quality in the Radiology department: to help radiologists and other users provide the best care at acceptable doses. This involves developing an understanding the contribution of the components in the imaging chain to system imaging performance, clearly defining the medical tasks undertaken, developing new test objects or making innovative use of existing test objects. It may be that human observer studies are required – with an appropriate task these will give a good idea of the current level of image quality obtained with the system. With careful design, these human observer results can be used to develop numerical (model) observers for image quality evaluation. Finally, the use of automated and/or remote methods of quality control may have to be considered as these greatly increase the sensitivity and robustness of QC systems. The ultimate task during the face-to-face part is to develop a dedicated, task specific quality assurance protocol for a new device.