[A simple test phantom in the form of a staircase for running control of the image in veterinary roentgenology].

Quality control in veterinary radiology seems to be neglected. For the correct estimation of the radiographic quality, there is no adequate phantom available. Although measurements have shown that the exposure to radiation is far under the admissible limits, the quantity of repeated examination has to be reduced. So it was necessary to create a phantom, which allows the objective judgement of the x-ray photograph taken immediately from the patient. The phantom shows the following characteristics: 1) It is small-sized, so that it can be represented on the radiograph together with the object, but without remarkable enlargement of the beam and additional exposure to radiation. 2) It consists of tissue-similar material, which absorbs and scatters x-rays similar to the body region. According to the fact that the indications for radiographs in veterinary medicine are mostly problems in skeleton regions, this region is represented first of all. 3) Therefore the phantom shows variable thickness, so that it can simulate different skeleton parts. 4) The represented parameters are: 4.1 the different radiographic densities; 4.2 the latitude; 4.3 the radiographic contrast; 4.4 the radiographic detail visibility (film-far, film-close) in the relevant parts of the x-ray picture 5) The phantom is universally applicable. By a way of "calibration" it is multipurpose for certain kinds and sizes of animals.