Quality control tests for PET/MRI vary widely in Europe

By Wayne Forrest, AuntMinnieEurope.com staff writer

A survey of eight large European imaging facilities with extensive clinical experience of PET/MRI has found wide variations in daily quality control and assurance procedures that ensure their proper function and image quality. The international study was published on 24 September in Frontiers in Physics.

One reason for the differences in performance testing protocols, the researchers suggested, is the lack of dedicated quality control recommendations for the hybrid imaging modality beyond standard vendor guidelines.

“The reported variations of local PET and MRI quality control procedures and testing frequencies are assumed to partly reflect the variations seen in the existing guidelines for the single modalities and the nonexistence of specific recommendations for PET/MRI,” wrote the authors, led by Alejandra Valladares, a doctoral candidate from the Medical University of Vienna.

“However, in part, the variability in the reporting seems to be caused by differences in the definition of the specific tests between the centers and a lack of in-depth knowledge about the implemented quality control measures included in the daily quality assurance and the tests performed by the vendor during the preventive maintenance,” they explained.

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European PET/MR sites with extensive clinical experience participating in the HYBRID consensus effort. Figure courtesy of Thomas Beyer, PhD, MBA.