CT Tube Flashcards
(63 cards)
- high x-ray tube voltages
- tube currents of hundreds of milliamperes, and
- scan times between 0.5 and 2 seconds.
CT x-ray technique
provide a very stable tube current and voltage.
High-frequency power supplies
used at high power ratings (up to 60 kW)
Large focal spots (1 mm)
used at low power ratings <25 kW
Small focal spot (0.6 mm)
used with CT scanners typically produces
a beam with an aluminum HVL of up to 10 mm
heavy filtration
used to minimize the dynamic range of
exposures at the detector
Bow-tie filter
- defines the section thickness and reduces scatter.
- restriction of the useful x-ray beam to reduce patient dose and improve image contrast
Collimation
- are located in the x-ray tube as well as the X-ray detectors.
- used to control the width of the fan beam between 1.0 and 10mm, which controls the width of the image slice
Collimators
Allow section thickness to range between 1 and 10 mm
Adjustable collimators
largest component of CT Machine
Gantry
The Gantry contains:
- x-ray tube,
- collimators,
- detector array,
- DAS (Data Acquisition System)
- the opening within the center of the gantry
- 28 inches(71.1cm) wide - to accommodate a variety of patient sizes
Aperture
- Generates X-ray beam
- Power requirement: typically 120 KV at 200-500 MA
- Anode heating capacity: 1MHU- 4MHU
- High-Speed Rotors for heat dissipation
- Focal spot size: small for spatial resolution
X-ray Tube
one of the most important issues that impacts X-ray tube performance is
heat management
Tube heat management
specification is described in
heat units (HU)
1 heat unit is equal to?
0.74 J
- is mounted on the tube housing
or adjacent to it - limits the area of the patient that intercepts the useful beam
- determines the slice thickness and patient dose
Pre-patient collimator
- restricts the x-ray field of view by the detector array and reduces scatter radiation incident
- does not contribute to patient dose
post- patient collimator/ pre-detector collimator
- Absorbs radiation and converts some or all of the absorbed energy into a small electrical signal
- Measures the intensity of radiation transmitted through the patient.
- Should have a high overall efficiency to minimize the patient radiation dose
- Must have a large dynamic range
- Must be very stable with time
- Must be insensitive to temperature variations with the gantry
Detector/X-ray Detector
what detector is an electric signal that is proportional to the incident radiation intensity is digitized and stored in a computer
CT detectors
consist of a gas-filled
chamber with anodes and cathodes maintained at a
potential difference.
Xenon gas ionization detectors
Incident x-ray photons ionize the gas, producing what?
electron-ion pairs
are more stable than solid-state detectors and have a wide linear response with no lag
Gas detectors
produce light when x-ray photons are absorbed, and are coupled to a light detector (photomultiplier tube or photodiode)
Scintillation crystals