The Comprehensive Guide to Documenting Ultrasound Probe Assessments

Sponsored by Innovatus

Proper documentation of ultrasound probe inspections can help to improve quality assurance processes and ultimately help to improve the quality of patient care. Currently, there is no standardized form within the industry for assessing system or probe performance. To help provide structure for sonographers and account for minor physical deficiencies, the Innovatus Imaging format breaks the documentation process into three sections.

The first component is the visual inspection, where sonographers and technicians can be prompted to document the appearance of various probe parts including the lens, array housing, bend relief, cable, strain relief, connector and pins. Deficiencies to be examined for include cuts and holes, open seals and seams, separations, damaged locking knobs, bends or burns, broken or missing pins within the connector and more.  

The sonographer should also document whether each individual component passes or fails inspection, and the form includes sections for comments to further explain the inspection in detail. 

The second section of the form involves phantom and scan testing. The sonographer or technician is directed to perform each of the quality assurance tests recommended by Innovatus, including image uniformity, gray scale, maximum penetration, axial/lateral resolution, functional resolution and cw/pw/color noise. 

Each test requires documentation of whether the results were acceptable or unacceptable when compared to the baseline measurements, as well as specific dimensions for certain tests. 

Lastly, the form includes space to document whether the scan passes or fails. In addition to documenting the probe manufacturer, model number, serial number, U.S. System I.D. and presets, the pass/fail result serves as an identifying marker of the inspection and can help inform what, if any, repairs are necessary.