Quality assurance

A quality assurance program describes all procedures necessary to maintain proper and consistent equipment operation.  The goal is to keep the diagnostic quality of the ultrasound image at a consistently high level and to maintain patient and operator safety. 

All clinical ultrasound facilities should have a good quality assurance program. Indeed, having a robust QA program is now a requirement for all accredited departments. The AIUM has an excellent document that describes in detail the components of a good QA program. You can access it here.

Here is a good pictorial article showing many examples of transducer and cable damage (link).

I have also created the three-part video series below that provides a good overview of quality assurance.

Also, a thorough explanation of statistical parameters such as Sensitivity, Specificity, Positive Predictive Value, and Negative Predictive Value is provided below in Part 3 of the Quality Assurance videos.