I was an MRI technologist exhausted from the weekly ACR Phantom ritual — leveling it, aligning it, scanning, re-checking — all while juggling patient schedules. Using paper to align the phantom was possible but archaic. Commercial positioning aids existed, but the $1,200 price tag (or more) put them out of reach for our department.

So I designed a better way: a simple, robust, affordable positioning system built specifically to make ACR Phantom scans fast, repeatable, and audit-ready.

What I needed

• A mechanical fixture that locks the phantom into the exact scanner isocenter and orientation without repeated leveling.

• A solution that fits standard phantoms and requires no tools for day-to-day use.

• A price point well under $1,200.

What I built

• A low-profile positioning cradle that mates to the specific coil and secures the phantom in the same lateral, longitudinal, and vertical position every time. The cradle uses durable materials so technologists can set and release the phantom in seconds.

• A quick alignment jig that ensures rotational (yaw) consistency; once set, it removes the need to re-level week after week.

Benefits we saw

• Prep time dropped from 10–15 minutes to under 2 minutes.

• Consistent phantom placement reduced repeated scans and operator variability.

• Affordable manufacturability — final cost targeted at half the alternatives, making it accessible to smaller clinics and busy hospital departments.

Why it matters Weekly phantom QA should be reliable and repeatable, not a drain on technologist time or department budgets. The result is faster checks, fewer rescans, and clean, auditable QC records for ACR accreditation.