Diagnostic QA SolutionsThe Mercury 4.0 Phantom makes it possible to characterize advanced CT features, including Automatic Exposure Control and Iterative Reconstruction, to support protocol optimization and proper dose management for your patients.
Characterization for Effective Dose Management
The Mercury 4.0 Phantom addresses performance and effectiveness of Automatic Exposure Control / Tube Current Modulation, and evaluates image quality for Iterative Reconstruction.
TG-233 Compliance
Meet AAPM Task Group 233 requirements for performance evaluation of CT systems.
Advanced CT Metrics
Collect and analyze data for advanced CT testing recommended by AAPM Task Group 233:
- Automatic Exposure Control
- Noise Power Spectrum
- Modulation Transfer Function & Task Transfer Function
- Detectability (d')
- Cone-beam artifacts
- Superior-Inferior resolution
Optimize protocols for your advanced CT systems.
This example demonstrates checking AEC for routine abdominal/pelvis protocol, reaching a minimum of ~250 mm Water Equivalent Diameter (WED). The graph at the right demonstrates that the average of patients treated in this group have a lower WED range of ~250 mm, confirming the protocol.*
*Evaluation of AAPM Reports 204 and 220: Estimation of effective diameter, water‐equivalent diameter, and ellipticity ratios for chest, abdomen, pelvis, and head CT scans. Burton, C. S., Szczykutowicz, T., J Appl Clin Med Phys (2018)
"We have purchased the Mercury 4.0 phantom to help with the optimisation of clinical CT scanning protocols. The ability to use the phantom with our own ImageJ plugin to calculate quantitative detectability indices over a range of patient sizes will be very helpful for this work. We found the Mercury CT AEC phantom to be useful when investigating CT automatic exposure control settings."
Medical Physicist, United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust, UK
Using the Mercury 4.0 Phantom for Common Clinical Tasks in CT
Learn about initial experiences using the Mercury 4.0 Phantom to address common clinical questions and optimize CT dose management across a wide range of patient sizes.
Reflecting Patient Size
5-tiered sections reflect a range of patient sizes to enable size-dependent image quality evaluation and predicting the CTDIvol for a given patient size
Case & Stand
Included stand with a handle and leveling feet makes setup easy, and wheeled case eases transport
Analysis Software
Software analysis, licensed from Duke ImQuest software, offers metrics that reflect what clinicians see
Resources
Publications
- Technical Note: Validation of TG 233 phantom methodology to characterize noise and dose in patient CT data
- A methodology for image quality evaluation of advanced CT systems
- Characteristic image quality of a third generation dual‐source MDCT scanner: Noise, resolution, and detectability
- Practical experiences in the transfer of clinical protocols between CT scanners with different ATCM systems
- Methods for CT automatic exposure control protocol translation between scanner platforms
- Evaluating the impact of scan settings on automatic tube current modulation in CT using a novel phantom
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Webinars & Videos
- Optimising a Radiotherapy Prostate CT Protocol using the Mercury Phantom
- Clinical Experience with the Mercury 4.0 Phantom for CT Protocol Optimization (Hosted by Physics World)
- Performance Evaluation of CT with the Mercury 4.0 Phantom (AAPM 2020 Presentation)
- Initial Experiences with CT Optimization using the Mercury 4.0 Phantom
- Mercury 4.0 Phantom - Address Automatic Exposure Control and Iterative Reconstruction
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Specifications
Material |
Polyethylene |
Diameter |
16.0, 21.0, 26.0, 31.0, and 36.0 cm |
Length |
52.0 cm |
Contrast Materials |
HE CT Solid Water®, Bone Mimicking Material, Polystyrene,10 mg/mL Iodine, and Air |
Resolution Wedge |
HE CT Solid Water® |
Software Analysis |
Works with ImQuest software, available from Duke |
Included |
Wheeled Case and Stand |
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