[Intl_DxMedPhys] GE Pristina Flat Field Uniformity

[Travis White]

I have seen a similar issue on GE units, usually after a service visit.  The working theory at the time was that that particular calibration has been done late in the calibration process, when the engineer was rushing and the system was hot.  The filters had thermally expanded when the calibration was done, then cooled and resulted in the “orange peel” artifact when tested under cooler (normal) conditions.  I would have the FSE come back and redo that particular calibration and it would be fine after that.  Not sure if this is your issue, but if you had recent service, it might be worth asking at what point in the calibration process that particular target/filter combo is performed.

From: Intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list <intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list-bounces at lists.osu.edu> On Behalf Of Palmer, Matthew R. (BIDMC - Radiology) via Intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list
Sent: Monday, January 26, 2026 4:39 PM
To: DxMedPhys List <intl_dxmedphys_wd_osu_list at lists.osu.edu>
Subject: [Intl_DxMedPhys] GE Pristina Flat Field Uniformity

Dear Colleagues, Multiple times recently, I’ve found artifacts when performing the Artifact Eval and Flat Field uniformity test, on the 2D Rh/Ag acquisitions for the GE Pristina mammo unit. I’ve pasted in a portion of my iPhone snapshot
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Dear Colleagues, Multiple times recently, I’ve found artifacts when performing the Artifact Eval and Flat Field uniformity test, on the 2D Rh/Ag acquisitions for the GE Pristina mammo unit. I’ve pasted in a portion of my iPhone snapshot
Dear Colleagues,

Multiple times recently, I’ve found artifacts when performing the Artifact Eval and Flat Field uniformity test, on the 2D Rh/Ag acquisitions for the GE Pristina mammo unit.  I’ve pasted in a portion of my iPhone snapshot from the AWS display.  The image quality isn’t pristine(a) and I’ve introduced a Moire pattern (there’s no ‘zipper’-like artifact in reality) but I think you can see the mottled appearance pretty clearly.

After the FSE runs the gain cal, the artifacts disappear – for about a day then reappear.

FSE’s feedback from GE experts is that not to worry – the artifacts won’t affect clinical images.  That’s hard to swallow.

I was astonished that the tech’s weren’t picking up the artifacts in their weekly QC so I ran their Flat Field test from the tech IQST Weekly QC page.  The images shown briefly (but not saved as far as I can tell) during the test sequence look perfect (although you can’t adjust the window/level).

I’m wondering if anyone has had this problem or can shed any light on it.

Matt Palmer
BIDMC Radiology



Matthew R. Palmer, PhD, DABR
Director, Medical Imaging Physics, Department of Radiology
Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
330 Brookline Avenue
Boston, MA 02215
office: 617-667-0176 fax: 617-667-2770
mobile: 617-794-1736 pager: 617-632-7243 #32214

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