Mammography Service — Level 1
Compression, detectors, dose and quality control
Part of the program: Mammography Service Engineer — program (8 h) →
A paddle that creeps, a thickness reading a centimetre out, a detector calibrated cold, a grid that sticks — in mammography small faults cost image quality and dose for every woman screened. This course teaches the engineer who maintains a mammography unit what makes it different from general X-ray and how to keep it safe, calibrated and fit for screening.
A mammogram looks for specks smaller than a millimetre. Small faults hide them.
- Mammography is screening of mostly healthy women: a small loss of contrast or a small rise in dose matters across thousands of examinations.
- Compression, low-kV beams, sensitive detectors and strict QC programmes make a mammography unit different from a general X-ray room, and general X-ray habits do not always transfer.
- Many call-outs are solved by understanding the system — settings, environment, calibration routines and the workstation — rather than by replacing expensive parts.
After the course you can
Curriculum
Name the blocks of a mammography system, explain why each one is built differently from a general X-ray unit, and recognise which detector technology you are standing in front of.free
20 min02Compression and mechanics
Check and maintain the compression system, C-arm and vertical drive so that force and thickness readings are trustworthy, motion is safe, and a patient can always be released.22 min03Tube, generator and AEC in mammography
Explain how the mammography tube, generator and AEC work together, read the typical error patterns, and decide which faults you can fault-find at Level 1 and which belong to the manufacturer's service.22 min04Detectors and calibration
Look after a mammography detector: keep its environment in range, understand offset, gain and defect calibration, tell calibration artefacts from hardware faults, and handle CR in a mammography room.22 min05Quality control and dose
Understand the mammography QC programme, what the daily, weekly and periodic tests show, what mean glandular dose means, and where the engineer's work ends and the medical physicist's begins.22 min06Fault-finding and return to service
Fault-find a mammography unit by subsystem using the logs and the operator's description, recognise the common artefact sources, and hand the unit back only after the right checks and a written decision.24 min—Exam
25 · 40 min · 75 %
The certificate
Pass the exam and get a certificate of course completion with your name, hours and score. Every certificate has a unique number and a public verification page, so an employer or a customer can check it in one click. It confirms completion of the course; it is not an educational document (diploma) and not a manufacturer authorisation.
Who it is for
Who it is for
- Hospital biomedical / clinical engineering teams
- Field engineers in independent service companies
Who teaches
Written by a service engineer working with medical equipment since 2014, including 6.5 years at GE Healthcare and service supervision at Mindray, together with the engineers of Service Engineer.
FAQ
Is this manufacturer training?
No. It is independent, vendor-neutral training. It does not replace the manufacturer's procedures or grant authorisation or access to service software.
Does it replace the medical physicist?
No. The course explains the QC and dose tests so that you can support them and understand the results; formal performance and dose assessment remains with the medical physicist or accredited organisation under your national rules.
What does the certificate say?
Your name, the course, the hours, the date and your exam score, with a unique number and a public verification page.
Can my company buy seats for a team?
Yes: five seats and a progress overview for the manager.
Languages?
English and Russian.