Análise de legislações e métodos aplicados a garantia da qualidade de imagens médicas em equipamentos de mamografia

Abstract

Given the importance of the use of medical radiology for Medicine and Odontology, it is extremely important to ensure the quality of medical images, as well as the safety of patients, who use diagnostic and therapeutic services, and professionals working in the area. The Quality Assurance Programs of medical images are applied around the world, through the performance of legislation and guidelines granted, for example, by the American College of Radiology and by the European Reference Organization for Quality Assured Breast Screening and Diagnostics Services. The objective of this work is to evaluate the general picture on the existence of legislation, guidelines and regulations applied to the quality of medical images in conventional X-ray and mammography equipments. Thus, it was evaluated the updates of Brazilian legislation, from 1998 to 2022, the “Medical Radiodiagnostic Guide: Equipment Performance and Safety” and the “European Guidelines for Quality Assurance in Breast Cancer Screening and Diagnosis” were evaluated. After analysis, it was possible to conclude that, despite the recent update in 2022, Brazilian legislation still lacks information on the tests necessary to evaluate the performance of equipments. The Medical Radiodiagnostic Guide fills this gap in instructions, providing information on the frequency of tests, materials needed, step-by-step for performing the procedures, formulas needed for calculations, interpretation of results and reference levels. And, in a complementary way, there is the European Guidelines Guide, material that was used as a basis for the development of others, including Brazilian legislation and the Medical Radiology Guide itself. In comparison with the other guides, it stands out in terms of the volume of information and details for executing the procedures. However, the three materials have in common the need to update the guidelines: it is necessary to check for changes in the procedures or reference levels applied