Section 1: Preface

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The purpose of the Healing Arts Radiation Protection Act and regulation is to promote and ensure the safety of all patients who undergo a diagnostic x-ray examination.

To improve a process, a machine or a system, measuring performance is necessary. When measuring, it is important that the instrumentation and procedures are consistent. Variations, however, are an inevitable fact of everyday life.

Over the years, the X-ray Inspection Service of the Ministry of Health has attempted to minimize inconsistencies in our inspection process. Our staff conduct inspections using calibrated equipment, following a consistent predetermined protocol. This has led to the development of a procedures manual, an important tool in reducing inconsistencies.

Adherence to the protocols specified in this manual ensures that measuring or testing is performed in a consistent manner. Of necessity, the procedures contained within this manual are dynamic, changing as we gain knowledge and as technology changes. The procedures that follow should therefore be viewed as a snapshot of the current testing methodologies. Though they are accurate at the time this manual was written, in the future, they may change.

This manual will be made available to x-ray technologists, service technicians and others. This is an attempt to encourage a consistent approach to the measurement and evaluation of the performance of x-ray equipment in the Province of Ontario.

We do not profess that the procedures that are outlined represent the only way to perform a given test. They do, however, describe the method used by the X-ray Inspection Service. These procedures are practical and have evolved over the years with a great deal of input from a number of individuals.