Fluke Biomedical 07-706 - Manual (Page 5)

Introduction
Operators Manual
1
1-1
Section 1
Introduction
1.1 Introduction
The U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare have published standards of performance for
diagnostic x-ray systems, and most state and local agencies will probably follow the same guidelines.
The Code of Federal Regulations, Title 21, Subchapter J*, Part 1020, includes the following sections:
Entrance Exposure Rate Limits
1020.32 (d-1) Equipment with Automatic Exposure Rate Control
Fluoroscopic equipment, which is provided with automatic exposure rate control, shall not be operable at
any combination of tube potential and current which will result in an exposure rate in excess of 10 R/min
at the point where the center of the useful beam enters the patient.
1020.32 (d-2) Equipment without Automatic Exposure Rate Control
Fluoroscopic equipment, which is not provided with automatic exposure rate control, shall not be operable
at any combination of tube potential and current which will result in an exposure rate in excess of 5 R/min
at the point where the center of the useful beam enters the patient.
1020.32 (d-3)
(i) If the source is below the table, the exposure rate shall be measured 1 cm above the tabletop or
cradle.
(ii) If the source is above the table, the exposure rate shall be measured at 30 cm above the tabletop,
with the end of the beam-limiting device or spacer positioned as close as possible to the point of
measurement.
(iii) In a C-arm type of fluoroscope, the exposure rate shall be measured 30 cm from the input surface
of the fluoroscopic imaging assembly.
*Copies of the regulations are available from:
Bureau of Radiological Health, Food and Drug
Administration, 12720 Twinbrook Parkway,
Rockville, MD 20852.
Use of the Patient Phantom/Penetrometer in a
basic QA program is described in the AAPM Report
No. 4, “Basic Quality Assurance in Diagnostic
Radiology,” which is available from the American
Association of Physicists in Medicine, 111 East
Wacker Drive, Chicago, IL 60601.
NOTE