Quality assurance in film radiography

The ISO 9000 standards were originally developed during the 1980`s to provide uniform, worldwide quality assurance requirements. The EC (European Communities) adopted these standards as part of their modular approach to ``conformity assessment`` procedures, for several product categories. This includes the development of standards (specifications) which define what the purchaser wants and what the supplier agrees to provide, as well as quality system registration (certification) which increases confidence in the supplier`s ability to produce consistently. The requirements are typically most rigorous for regulated products that have a major impact on health and safety i.e film radiographic systems. This is the main reason for making available the necessary Q.C. tools in film radiography to comply with Q.A. specifications and guarantee the required consistent performance. These tools can only give satisfying support if they are dedicated, easy to use, precise and cost effective at the user`s level. The main topics for such a Q.A. package are: (1) standard for Film System classification for industrial radiography; (2) film system certification; and (3) standard for control of film processing by means of reference values i.e. pre-exposed film wedges and archiving quality control method.