lecture 4 factors affecting xray Flashcards
total amount of energy contained in the x-ray beam
intensity
number of photons in the beam. related to tube current(mA) and exposure time and less so by tube voltage
quantity
quantity x quality =
intensity of beam
how is quantity expressed
mAs
average energy the x-ray beam
quality
what is controlled primarily by the tube voltage (kVp)
quality
x-ray of beam is
heterogeneous
6 factors controlling the x-ray beam intensity
- tube voltage
- exposure time
- tube current
- filtration
- collimation
- source-receptor distance
as the voltage of the tube increases:
1. number of photons
2. mean energy
3. maximum energy of photons
- number of photons INCREASES
- mean energy INCREASES [increases quality]
- maximum energy of photons INCREASES
as the exposure time of the tube increases:
1. number of photons
2. mean energy
3. maximum energy of photons
- number of photons INCREASES
- mean energy UNCHANGED [quality unchanged]
- maximum energy of photons UNCHANGED [quality unchanged]
as the tube current[mA] increases:
1. number of photons
2. mean energy
3. maximum energy of photons
- number of photons INCREASES [increases quantity]
- mean energy UNCHANGED [quality unchanged]
- maximum energy of photons [quality unchanged]
selectively removes long wavelength (low energy) x-rays
filtration (made of aluminum)
total filtration =
inherent filtration + added filtration
inherent filtration:
1
2
3
4
- glass envelope
- immersion oil
- metal housing
- tube window
added filtration:
1
- aluminum disks
as filtration increases:
1. number of photons
2. mean energy
3. maximum energy of photons
- number of photons DECREASES [reduce quantity]
- mean energy INCREASES [increases quality]
- maximum energy of photons UNCHANGED
this restricts the size and shape of the beam
collimation
collimation:
1. number of photons
2. mean energy
3. maximum energy of photons
- number of photons DECREASES
- mean energy UNCHANGED
- maximum energy of photons UNCHANGED
intensity of the beam varies inversely to the square of the source-to-receptor distance
inverse square law
inverse square law- one method of calculating the new beam intensity when changing the source-to-receptor distance
- if distance is double 8 to 16:
- if distance is tripled from 4 to 12:
- if distance is halved from 16 to 8:
- new intensity is 1/4(inverse of 2^2)
- new intensity is 1/9 (inverse of 3^2)
- new intensity is 4x (inverse of 1/2^2)
as source-to-receptor distance increases:
1. number of photons
2. mean energy
3. maximum energy of photons
- number of photons DECREASES[decreases quantity]
- mean energy UNCHANGED [unchanged quality]
- maximum energy of photons UNCHANGED
altered by factors affecting quantity of the beam
density
altered by factors affecting the quality of the beam
contrast
amount of blackness of an image
density