MRI quality control tools for procedures and analyses

Quality control in MRI includes acceptance tests on the installation of a new scanner and tests representative of the system's performance during clinical practice. The first tests are time consuming and carried out to evaluate the agreement of the system with the prescribed procurement specifications. The second tests identify the equipment malfunction requiring maintenance are not time consuming and are suited to a busy clinical scanner. The paper evaluates the feasibility of the AAPM protocols (1,2) and proposes procedures and practical tools to achieve this purpose. The MRI images, captured from the scanner and transferred in DICOM (Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine) format by a local network, are analyzed by computerized worksheets and commercial software.