Grondoudis, Andreas

A prototype software system for supporting the process of data collection and management in Quality Assurance (QA) for diagnostic imaging is presented. The developed system comprises two main units: the Image Processing Unit (IPU) and the Data Management Unit (DMU). The IPU is implemented to analyse images from different diagnostic modalities to allow extraction of quantitative measurements for further processing or immediate storage. The IPU is dynamically linked to the DMU so that measurements are transferred directly to the DMU. This process allows the automated generation of quality assurance reports for all such modalities. Apart from its low cost, flexibility for expandability and portability, the developed system extensively and comprehensively tests diagnostic modalities for compliance with international guidelines and standards, offering a structured approach to a comprehensive QA methodology.

Magnetic Resonance (MRI), Computed Tomography (CT) and Ultrasound (US) are three of the most commonly used clinical imaging modalities. The aim of this study was to establish a Quality Assurance program for MRI, CT and US scanners. A well-designed quality assurance program is of utmost importance in the clinical setting, because it indicates whether diagnostic imaging modalities meet the minimum criteria of acceptable performance and because it helps determine those scanner parameters that need adjustment in order to ensure optimum performance. Quality assurance programs that rely on manual data collection and analysis are tedious and time consuming and are often abandoned due to the significant workload required for their implementation. In this paper we describe an integrated software system for automating the process of data collection and management in Quality Assurance for diagnostic radiological imaging. The developed system is comprised of two main units: The Image Processing Unit (IPU) and the Data Management Unit (DMU). The IPU is used for analysing images from different diagnostic modalities in order to extract measurements. The IPU is dynamically linked to the DMU so that measurements are transferred directly to the DMU. This process allows the generation of quality assurance reports for all such modalities.