Kemp, Brad J

PurposeA Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography quality assurance program is necessary to ensure that patients receive optimal imaging and care. We summarize the AAPM Task Group (TG) 126 report on acceptance and quality assurance (QA) testing of PET/CT systems.MethodsTG 126 was charged with developing PET/CT acceptance testing and QA procedures. The TG aimed to develop procedures that would allow for standardized evaluation of existing short‐axis cylindrical‐bore PET/CT systems in the spirit of NEMA NU 2 standards without requiring specialized phantoms or proprietary software tools.ResultsWe outline eight performance evaluations using common phantoms and freely available software whereby the clinical physicist monitors each PET/CT system by comparing periodic Follow‐Up Measurements to Baseline Measurements acquired during acceptance testing. For each of the eight evaluations, we also summarize the expected testing time and materials necessary and the recommended pass/fail criteria.ConclusionOur report provides a guideline for periodic evaluations of most clinical PET/CT systems that simplifies procedures and requirements outlined by other agencies and will facilitate performance comparisons across vendors, models, and institutions.