Upcoming EUTEMPE-EFOMP didactic webinar: ” The philosophy of QC protocols” (Dec 8, 2020, 12pm CET)

Dear friends and colleagues,

I have the honor to announce a next webinar in the EFOMP-EUTEMPE Webinar and Masterclass series. We welcome Ruben Van Engen as our invited speaker. Ruben leads also EUTEMPE-RX module 9, see www.eutempe-net.eu

Link to register for the webinar at : https://www.efomp.org/index.php?r=pages&id=webinars

Attending the webinar is free.

Abstract:

In a patient population undergoing mammography breast size and composition vary considerably, therefore the automatic exposure control (AEC) tunes the exposure to the individual breast which is imaged. To check the correct workings of the AEC and to ensure sufficient image quality at acceptable dose levels, QC tests are performed. In these QC tests phantoms are used to simulate breasts with specific thickness and composition. It is however not doable to perform measurements for all conditions possible. This means that measurements are performed using a small sample of simulated breasts. It is clear that this sample has to be chosen cleverly, so that the correct workings of the mammography system can be assumed for the whole spectrum of different breasts if the sample fulfils all requirements. For a QC protocol this means that a philosophy, an idea behind the sets of measurements, is required and that the individual measuring points of a specific test should be chosen carefully. A good QC protocol is more than just a collection of QC tests and measurements. In this webinar we will discuss the philosophy behind QC protocols and tests, the challenges of developing clinically relevant tests, the need for pass/fail criteria, and the role of big data analysis of clinical images in quality assurance.

Speaker:

Ruben van Engen is physics consultant at LRCB, the Dutch Expert Centre for Screening, and is responsible for the technical quality control protocols, system optimization and type testing (technical + clinical). He coordinated the work on the physics chapters of the European Guidelines in mammography, its Supplement, and in EUREF. He is chair of the EFOMP WG to develop a QC protocol for DBT systems, member of the Guidelines Development Group of the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, and member of several AAPM task groups. His research interests are in image quality evaluations, development of QC tests and phantoms. He teaches mammography physics at LRCB and is a leader of EUTEMPE mammography physics course.

Ask your questions via the chat box.  I’ll try to bring them up in the panel discussion.

You can also already register for the Master class that builds upon this Webinar: https://www.efomp.org/index.php?r=pages&id=webinars

Best regards, keep it safe & see you online.

Hilde Bosmans

Coordinator of the EUTEMPE network.