Quality Control of Radiography Equipments in Golestan Province of IRAN

Introduction The main goal of this study was to perform quality control test on all radiography units operating in Golestan province of IRAN. Materials and Methods Forty-four X-ray units were examined based on general accepted programs for quality control. Eight parameters including kVp accuracy, kVp reproducibility, mA-time reciprocity, exposure linearity, exposure reproducibility, timer accuracy, filtration, and beam alignment were measured and calculated. Measurements were carried out by a Baracuda X-ray beam analyzer. Results Variance of kVp reproducibility was acceptable in 100% of equipments. kVp accuracy was found to be unsatisfactory in 29.5% of equipments. Variance of mA-time reciprocity was measured to be within reliable limits. Thirty-nine percent of radiography equipments showed non-linear exposure attitude while 16.7 % of them exhibited unacceptable reproducibility of exposure. Moreover, beam misalignment was met in 29.5% of equipments. In 43.2% of radiography equipments, timer accuracy was out of permissible range. Conclusion Timer inaccuracy seems to be a common problem for X-ray units. Exposure non-linearity, mA-time non-reciprocity, kVp inaccuracy, beam misalignment, and finally non-reproducibility of exposure were found to have less importance. Keywords Golestan Province; Quality control; Radiography Equipment