Chapter 1 Flashcards
What is a Radiographer?
a radiologic technologist who administers ionizing radiation to perform radiographic procedures
What are patient care responsibilities of the radiographer?
- communication
- assessment
- monitoring
- support
How should a radiographer gain the trust of a patient?
- introducing yourself and verifying patient info (name, DOB, procedure being done)
- explaining the procedure before beginning and during
- give clear directions and expectations
Explain ALARA
as low as reasonably achievable
What is the ASRT? What do they do?
- American Society of Radiologic Technologists
- define the practice of radiography
- describe the necessary education and certification
- includes:
- the Radiographer Scope of Practice
- Clinical Performance Standards
- Quality Performance Standards
- Professional Performance Standards
What is the ARRT?
- American Registry of Radiologic Technologists
- created and maintained the Standards of Ethics
What is ethics in radiology?
a profession’s moral responsibility and the science of appropriate conduct towards others
What is the Standards of Ethics?
includes a Code of Ethics and Rules of Ethics
What is the ARRT Code of Ethics?
- serves as a professional guide for rad. techs.
- 11 statements
How should a radiographic room be taken care of?
- should be kept clean, sanitized, stocked, and organized
- table should be cleaned after ever patient
- any shields coming in contact with patients should be disinfected and cleaned daily
- IRs should be protected from patient pathogens, clean from any adhesives, and disinfected
What are some standard precautions to prevent pathogen contamination?
- perform hand hygiene
- use PPE if possible to exposure to infectious material
- follow respiratory / cough hygiene and etiquette
- ensure appropriate patient placement
What is the easiest way to prevent the spread of microorganisms? When should it be done?
- hand washing
- before and after examining any and every patient
When using a free IR on a patient who is in isolation, where should the IR be placed?
under a clean sheet
Who should interpret radiographs? Why?
- the radiologist
- in the ASRT, they define what a radiographer’s role is and interpreting radiographs is out of the scope of practice
How should a patient be dressed for an x-ray?
- remove any clothes from whatever body part that is being radiographed
- removing jewelry and artifacts that may be radiographed during an x-ray
- wear a gown that is not radiopaque
What are the 3 types of muscular tissue that affect motion?
- smooth (involuntary)
- cardiac (involuntary)
- striated (voluntary)
What is involuntary motion caused by?
- heart pulsation
- chills
- peristalsis
- tremor
- spasm
- pain
What is the primary method of reducing involuntary motion on images?
short exposure time
What is voluntary motion caused by?
- nervousness
- discomfort
- excitability
- mental illness
- fear
- age
- breathing
What is the primary method of reducing voluntary motion on images?
short exposure time
What are other methods to reduce voluntary motion on images?
- giving clear instructions
- provide patient comfort
- adjusting support devices
- applying immobilization
What is an IR?
device that receives the energy of the x-ray beam and forms the image of the body part
What are the 4 types of IRs?
- solid-state digital radiography (digital radiography / DR)
- photostimulable storage phosphor image plate (PSP IP; used for CR)
- fluoroscopic IR
- cassette with film
The order of “the flow” steps will vary by what?
- anatomy of interest
- patient condition
- type of equipment available
- department protocol
Technique charts characteristics
- usually are in every room and on mobile machines
- specifies projections performed in the room
- includes exposure factors for each projection
What are the primary factors radiographers can control?
- mAs (milliampere-seconds)
- kVp (kilovolt peak)
- AECs (automatic exposure control)
- SID
- relative patient or part thickness
- grid
- CR/DR exposure indicators
- collimation
- electrical supply
When should gonads be shielded?
- when practical
- when patient is of reproductive potential
- when gonads lie within or close to primary x-ray field (~5cm)
What are the general IR positions? Which is the most commonly used one?
- lengthwise - used most commonly
- crosswise
- diagonal
Why do we angle the CR through the body part of interest?
- avoid superimposition of structures
- “straighten out” a curved structure
- align the CR through angled joints
- avoid distortion
What does the SID affect?
- magnification
- spatial resolution
- patient dose
Describe the relationship between SID and magnification
the farther the SID, the less magnification there is
What is the SID for a chest x-ray? What is the SID if one isn’t mentioned?
- 72 inches
- if one isn’t mentioned, 40 inches
Collimation characteristics
- minimizes patient exposure
- reduces scatter radiation
- reduces the risk of an adverse effect on contrast resolution
What is shuttering?
a software feature of digital radiography used for image display aesthetics only
How can shuttering pose a problem?
bc shuttering can be used to crop images, rad. techs. can be tempted to overexpose a patient and then crop causing liability issues
What must a radiographer evaluate in each radiograph?
- acceptability of image features
- proper radiation safety practices
- if the objectives of performing the procedure have been met
- presence of patient ID
- proper marker placement
- proper collimation
- shielding
- no artifacts
Patient safety for overweight patients
- make sure table can support patient weight
- avoid talking about weight
- make sure adequate personnel are available
- communicate each process
How do you find the pubic symphysis on patients who are less than 5ft, in between 5ft and 6ft, and more than 6ft?
- locate the jugular notch
- measure from notch
- patients less than 5ft: 21in from notch
- patients 5ft to 6ft: 22in from notch
- patients over 6ft: 24in from notch
What factors should be increased on obese patients? Why?
- mA
- kVp
- exposure time
- bc increasing these factors, esp. kVp increases the penetration of an x-ray beam
T/F: a larger patient requires a bigger IR and bigger collimation field
F: just bc a patient looks bigger on the outside, does not mean they need a bigger IR and collimation field; this can cause the patient to be overexposed
