Equipment Standards

(A) Initial optimization of operating parameters shall be performed on all equipment used in producing mammograms. The process undertaken to perform the optimization and the results shall be documented. (B) The image acquisition and image receptor systems and their individual components shall be specifically designed for digital mammography. (C) The x-ray system must have the capability of providing kilovolt peak (kVp)/target/filter combinations appropriate to image receptor systems meeting the requirements of 105 CMR 127.017(B). (D) The x-ray machine shall be equipped with the following: (1) a means of immobilizing and compressing the breast so that a constant force of a minimum of 25 to a maximum of 45 pounds is achievable; and (2) a means of maintaining this compression throughout the period of exposure. (E) A mammographic x-ray unit shall have automatic exposure control. (F) X-ray systems shall indicate, or provide the means of determining, the milliampere-seconds (mAs) resulting from each exposure made with automatic exposure control for new units installed after 1994. (G) Special Attachments for Mammography. When special attachments for mammography are in service, the x-ray system upon which they are used shall be provided with means to limit the useful beam such that the x-ray field at the plane of the image receptor does not extend beyond any edge of the image receptor at any designated SID except the edge of the image receptor designed to be adjacent to the chest wall where the x-ray field may not extend beyond this edge by more than one percent of the SID. This evaluation shall be performed at the maximum SID.