Intercomparison and performance assessment of radionuclide calibrators used in nuclear medicine departments in Serbia

The purpose of this work is to assess accuracy and compare the performance of radionuclide calibrators (RNCs) used in nuclear medicine departments in Serbia. Testing of the RNCs included verification of measurement accuracy, as well as analysis of routinely used quality control protocols, by using the certified radioactivity standards (57Co, 137Cs). RNCs performances were assessed with 99mTc through comparison of reference value for radionuclide activity and RNC measurements. Results of the intercomparison revealed that RNCs, 15 in total, are accurate within 10% in vial geometry and within 15% in syringe geometry. Most of them showed similar performance. The results revealed that container geometry is an important influencing parameter in the accuracy of activity measurement. Obtained results indicate a need for regular calibration and implementation of Quality Control program in order to achieve and maintain the accuracy of activity measurements in nuclear medicine. •An investigation on the performance of radionuclide calibrators was performed in Serbia for the first time.•The accuracy and the short-term reproducibility were assessed in intercomparison of radioactivity measurements.•The goal was to develop a protocol for the quality control of radionuclide calibrators and to foster its implementation.•Initial implementation of the protocol revealed that most of the radionuclide calibrators have satisfactory performance.