Great news! DISC will be attending this years RSNA Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL from Nov 30th - Dec 4th 2014. 
We will be roaming the halls of the beautiful McCormick Place throughout the conference so please be sure to come by and say hello. 
We will also be doing a raffle where you can WIN a DISC MAS 5 Meter at the Swissray booth #2700!

Where should you begin when developing or revamping your radiation dose procedures and policies? The importance of QC/QA programs in imaging are becoming more and more prevalent as the industry recognizes the need for these procedures and policies.

"...your imaging policies and procedures have to be developed simultaneously as you develop your internal radiation safety program. By developing an inclusive program that accounts for each of the multiple critical components of a radiation safety program, you will build the foundation by which your policies and procedures will guide and regulate your organizational practices to ensure the best patient safety possible."

The DISC MAS-5 Meter is an industry leader in measuring MAS for service engineers. For a single exposure analysis this meter is able to measure MAS, Exposure Time, mA as well as give three sample mA waveform values of the sequential 50 milliseconds of the test exposure. 

Other features and benefits include:

• Specialized for Service Engineers
• Includes a button that causes the meters mA sampling to include/exclude the first 10 milliseconds of the test exposure
• Lightweight and compact 
• High Accuracy to ensure proper calibration
• Able to measure Single Exposures as well as Segmented Exposures
• The MAS-5 Meter displays three 50-millisecond mA waveform samples so that radiographic and mammographic pre-heat circuits can be analyzed and adjusted without using an oscilloscope

View the video below for the setup guide of the MAS 5 Meter. 
Please note: This meter is to be used ONLY by qualified Service Engineers

• When calibrating your x-ray machine, the Wireless CR Radchex does not need to be exposed to a laser to give up its light image
  
• This meter measures light immediately upon exposure to x-rays
  
• The Wireless CR Radchex can calibrate radiographic AEC systems in under an hour and mammography AEC systems in about two hours, resulting in tremendous time and cost savings for your staff.
• Using a dosimeter, one waits 10-15 minutes for an imaging plate to stabilize before processing whereas the Wireless CR Radchex can calibrate the AEC to produce the same light signal for any patient thickness or kVp without waiting 10-15 minutes and without using a plate reader. The Wireless CR Radchex gives and almost instantaneous reading!

 

We have recently updated the QA Radchex Meter Instruction Manual to help improve the set up process for this product. Please contact us if you have any questions or concerns about the updated manual at 204-347-5757 or email inquiries@disc-imaging.com

A survey was recently completed with Decision-Maiking Stakeholders in June 2013 that uncovered some interesting trends in data in the Diagnostic Imaging Field. The key findings and trends that the White Paper listed are:

• "The Stakeholders in diagnostic imaging are aligned in naming workflow and productivity as their number one priority
• There is a difference of opinion between Radiology Chairs and Directors when it comes to prioritizing the commoditization of imaging and growing competition. Only 22% of Directors are concerned with commoditization and competition as compared to 56% of Radiology Chairs.
• Everyone agrees at all levels about Importance of leveraging data by accessing information in unstructured data formats...."

To read more about the findings from this survey, please click here to access the White paper from M*Modal

It is essential that the necessary quality control test equipment be provided to the quality control technologist and/or medical physicist according to the Canadian Quality guidelines. There needs to be full cooperation between the Interpreting Physicians (Radiologists), Medical Physicists, Technologist, and Owners to properly maintain a facility's Quality Assurance Programme. It is suggested that the required test equipment be acquired when X-ray equipment is purchased. The following image is a complete list of test equipment along with purchasing specifications for the accuracy and reproducibility of the equipment. 

The DISC DR Radchex Plus is an easy to use quality assurance meter that contains both a Phantom, with image quality evaluation objects as well as a dual Dosimeter. This product has the potential to save time when testing your X-Ray Equipment. 

"Thirty-nine percent residents reported radiation safety is discussed in their residency curriculum at least every 6 months. Ninety-five percent believed in a link between radiation exposure and development of cancer. Overall and Radiology residents' knowledge about specific estimated dose effects (correct responses) was limited..."

Facilities must comply with the following radiology standards according to The College of Physicians & Surgeons of Manitoba:

"5.4 Radiation Dose Management

 5.4.1 A facility must:


5.4.1.1 establish and maintain Diagnostic Reference Levels (DRLs) for routine examination protocols for average sized patients.

5.4.1.2 adopt dose reduction strategies to minimize patient dose, which must include:

       1. the “As Low As Reasonably Achievable” (ALARA) principle.
       2. providing radiation shielding to all vulnerable body areas that are not included in the examination.
       3. dose reduction technologies.
       4. examination protocols which take into account body habitus, body mass index or lateral width..."

Please click HERE to access the Manitoba Diagnostic Imaging Standards PDF which states Manitoba's Quality Assurance standards in Radiology.