Ultrasound Quality Assurance (QA) Service

Why is Ultrasound QA testing necessary?

Ultrasound is a safe technique that is used in a wide range of healthcare settings and disciplines by many healthcare professionals. However there can be significant clinical risk if equipment is poorly specified or maintained. Some machine or transducer faults may not be obvious to a regular operator.

Equipment faults can impact on reliability and patient or operator safety. Some faults can degrade image quality. Reduced image quality may lead to misinterpretation of images.

It is recommended that all ultrasound equipment should be correctly maintained, including regular quality assurance and electrical safety testing. This is not always provided by manufacturers.

Our Quality Assurance Service

Using specialist tissue mimicking test phantoms and electrical safety testing equipment we are able to measure and monitor ultrasound scanner safety, imaging performance and function.

Our test regime includes:

• Baseline and routine electrical safety testing for new scanners and transducers.
• Baseline image quality measurements including axial and lateral resolution, penetration depth, calliper accuracy, reverberation, slice width, anechoic (cystic structure) resolution, contrast (dynamic range) resolution, noise and image uniformity.
• Routine measurements to detect machine faults which may impact on patient or user safety and/or degrade image quality.
• Extended testing as necessary in the event of equipment fault.

What Impact Diagnostics can Offer

Impact Diagnostics offers a complete package of tests performed by a highly experienced team of ultrasound physicists.

• Quality assurance testing for diagnostic ultrasound scanners and transducers. Recommended as part of a high quality and safe ultrasound service.
• All manufacturers and models covered.
• All healthcare settings and services covered.
• Testing based on current guidelines and recommendations.
• Testing performed by highly experienced Medical Physicists specialising in ultrasound quality assurance and ultrasound physics.
• Expert advice on ultrasound quality assurance and safety issues.
• Flexible scheduling and out-of-hours testing to suit busy departments.