On the acceptability of fluoroscopic systems for clinical use

The proposed European commission report radiation protection 162 (EC RP 162) provides a set of tests and reference criteria that reflect European Union requirements for the acceptability of fluoroscopy X-ray systems. The report updates and expands on the current criteria established in report radiation protection (RP) 91 (1997). There is no universally accepted set of test methods due to differing national regulations and professional opinions. This paper provides a sample of such differences in the context of the proposed RP 162 criteria. A review of some fundamental fluoroscopic tests from both an Irish European Union and a US perspective is presented. The criteria proposed in EC RP 162 provide sufficient information about basic acceptability of interventional fluoroscopes and ideally, evaluations should be extended further to include specific clinical requirements.