Service standards for the thyroid performance testing program

The National Calibration Reference Centre for Bioassay and In Vivo Monitoring (The Centre), operated by the National Internal Radiation Assessment Section (NIRAS) of the Radiation Health Assessment Division, provides specially designed neck phantoms to allow facilities to demonstrate that their thyroid monitoring program meets the requirements of Regulatory Standard REGDOC 2.7.2 Dosimetry, Volume 2. The phantoms, provided to participants in the Centre’s performance testing (PT) program, can also be used to establish calibration factors.

Participants in the thyroid PT program are mailed a kit that contains the following: a neck phantom modelled from a human neck made of material to closely approximate human tissue, inserts designed to mimic a real thyroid gland (ICRP 1975) containing simulated 131I, 123 I and/or 125I, instructions on the proper use of the phantom, a report form, and a telephone “hot-line” number for assistance.

The Centre provides advice and assistance to participating facilities to solve problems identified through their participation in the thyroid PT program and maintains a historical, confidential data base for efficient information retrieval and trend analysis.

Service pledge

Dosimetry Services participating in this PT meet the requirement for independent testing as given in the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission’s (CNSC) Regulatory Standard, “REGDOC 2.7.2 Dosimetry, Volume 2: Technical and Management System Requirements for Dosimetry Services”.

Participants receive their individual results. The individual reports preserve the anonymity of the participants. The reports and facility identities are also provided to the CNSC in accordance with REGDOC 2.7.2 Dosimetry, Volume 2.

The Centre’s Quality Manual and relevant Quality Records will be made available to a client, on request, for a mutually agreed period.

Service delivery targets

The Centre provides an annual PT service to facilities that perform thyroid monitoring, which includes:

• Thyroid phantoms that can be used to measure bias and precision of a counting system.
• Radioactivity levels of the thyroid phantoms guaranteed to an accuracy of ± 5 % based on gravimetric preparation.
• Shipment of the phantom at a time convenient to the participant (contingent on the number of available phantoms).
• Access to qualified staff to assist in the test process.
• Response to clients' enquiries within two working days and issues addressed within two weeks of receipt.
• A written report evaluating participant results sent within ten working days of receiving the PT data from the client facility.
• A calibration phantom can be provided to facilities that do not meet the regulator’s performance requirements during a test.
• A quality assurance program to confirm the reliability and accuracy of the PT samples which includes purchase of radionuclide standards from either the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) or a laboratory traceable to NIST.
• Documented procedures written in accordance with ISO 9001:2015 are available for review.

Additional information

The following documents describing various aspects of the thyroid PT are available at no cost:

Kramer, G.H.; Burns, L.C.; Meyerhof, D.P. The Canadian National Calibration Reference Centre for In-Vivo Monitoring: Thyroid Monitoring. Part I: The National Inter-Comparison Programme. Canadian Journal of Medical Radiation Technology 24(4): 157-160; 1993.

Kramer G.H.; Olender G.; Vlahovich S.; Hauck B.M.; Meyerhof D.P. Comparison of the ANSI, RSD, KKH and BRMD Thyroid-Neck Phantoms for 125I Thyroid Monitoring. Health Physics 70(3): 425-429; 1996.

Feedback mechanisms

Comments, suggestions for improvement or complaints may be made to:

Head, NCRC
Radiation Protection Bureau
775 Brookfield Road, Address Locator 6302D
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1C1
CANADA

Telephone: 613-954-6667
Facsimile: 613-960-1372
E-Mail: hml-lsh@canada.ca