Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 8, 2026

Diagnostic Ultrasound Imaging of Mouse Diaphragm Function
Published on: April 21, 2014
Reproducibility of a quantitative system for assessing the quality of diagnostic ultrasound
Wagner Iared1, Andrea Puchnick2, Eduardo Bancovsky3
1MD, PhD, Radiologist, Advisor for the Graduate Program in Evidence-Based Medicine of the Escola Paulista de Medicina da Universidade Federal de São Paulo (EPM-Unifesp), São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
Objective:
To present a quantitative system for assessing the quality of ultrasound examinations-SQUALUS-and to determine its reproducibility, taking into consideration the images on file, as well as the consistency between the images obtained and the final report.
Materials And Methods:
The system includes questions related to the number of images; the appropriateness of images in relation to the protocol established; focus adjustment; depth; gain; and appropriateness of the measurements for B-mode examinations. For Doppler examinations, the system includes questions related to the appropriateness of color images, the spectral analysis, and correction of the insonation angle. To assess the quality of the report, the system includes questions related to the consistency between the images obtained and the contents of the report. An overall numerical score was assigned by averaging the scores for image quality and for the contents of the report. Two independent examiners, each blinded to the evaluation of the other, assessed 30 different types of ultrasound examinations.
Results:
There was statistically significant agreement between the two examiners for 8 of the 10 questions related to image quality. For the questions related to the quality of the reports, the interexaminer agreement was almost perfect.
Conclusion:
The proposed quantitative system for assessing the quality of ultrasound examinations is a reproducible tool that can be used in audits and accreditation programs.
Related Concept Videos
Assessing Blood pressure using a doppler ultrasound
Pre-Procedural Guidelines for Doppler Ultrasound Blood Pressure Assessment:
Preparation of Equipment:
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease-IV: Assessement and Diagnostic Studies
Medical History
Quality Control
Quality control helps track data, visualize trends, and identify variations, making it easier to detect deviations that may affect the accuracy of an analysis. One way to do this is by generating a quality control chart, which...
Quality Assurance
Quality of Water
Ultrasound II: Endoscopic Ultrasound and FibroScan
Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS):

