Application of European suspension criteria to dental radiology: an Irish perspective.

The European Medical Exposures Directive 97/43/Euratom aims to ensure that measures are put in place to guarantee that X-ray equipment is suitable for clinical use. The Directive was transposed into Irish legislation in Statutory Instruments 478 of 2002 and 2010. This study presents the quality assurance (QA) assessment results for 187 intra-oral and 37 orthopantomogram (OPG) dental X-ray systems from a range of nine different manufacturers. The equipment was assessed over a 24- month period. Testing was performed based on the methodologies and tolerances from Irish and other international guidelines and standards. Analysis of the results which was undertaken in recent months with a focus on the suspension tolerances proposed in the Criteria for Acceptability of Medical Radiological Equipment (RP 162) are presented in this paper.