Guidance

Breast screening: acquisition and testing of ultrasound scanners

Information on purchasing, installing, maintaining and the quality assurance of breast ultrasound scanners for the NHS breast screening programme.

• From: NHS England
• Published: 30 April 2011
• Last updated: 9 April 2026
  Show all updates

  1. 9 April 2026

     Replaced PDF with HTML

  2. 22 January 2026

     • Updating the quality assurance management structure • specification for the frequency range of probes • changes to the in-air reverberation pattern test • quantitative values for spatial resolution limits and low contrast penetration limits • changes to the calliper accuracy tolerance • advice on the procurement of pre-owned ultrasound equipment • advice on speed of sound settings • advice on advanced imaging technologies

  3. 29 July 2025

     Changed lead organisation from Public Health England to NHS England.

  4. 30 April 2011

     First published.

Applies to England

Documents

Guidance notes for the acquisition and testing of ultrasound scanners for use in the NHS Breast Screening Programme (NHSBSP)

HTML

Details

Use this document to make sure ultrasound scanning equipment meets the standards required for the NHS breast screening programme.

This document covers information on:

• clinical requirements
• equipment selection and supply
• quality assurance
• evidence based baseline testing
• evidence based acceptance testing
• evidence based physics testing