Control Of Scatter & Grid Flashcards
What is a beam restricting device?
Tools an RT can use to limit the amount of scatter radiation reaching the IR.
What is scatter?
X-ray photons that have changed direction after interacting with matter.
What are three factors that contribute to scatter?
Increased kVp
Increased X-ray field size
Increased pt thickness
Beam restricting devices reduce scatter by:
Decrease X-ray beam
Decrease amount of tissue irradiated
As scatter radiation increases, the radiograph loses contrast & appears:
Gray and dull due to fog.
Fog is:
Unintended optical density on a radiograph that reduces contrast because of light or chemical contamination.
Three effects of scatter:
Degrades visibility of detail or image detail
Degrades contrast resolution
Degrades spatial resolution
Spatial resolution is controlled by:
Focal spot size.
Contrast resolution is affected by:
Scatter radiation
Scatter can be controlled by:
Beam restricting devices, grids & collimation.
Collimation reduces _________ & improves _________.
Pt dose/contrast resolution
As X-ray energy increases (kVp) scatter (increases or decreases?)
increases
It is not possible to use low kVp on all of our exams because:
Fewer X-rays reach the IR at low kVp (Higher percentage of a low energy beam gets attenuated by the pt).
With larger pt’s, kVp must be ______ (high or low) to ensure adequate penetration.
high
With increased kVp comes increased _______ and decreased _______.
Scatter/contrast.
Because of reduction in patient dose, ____ kVp is preferred to ___ kVp.
High/low
As field size is increased, scatter radiation is _______.
Increased.
As we collimate, we reduce the amount of OD as well as the amount of X-rays reaching the IR, therefore we must ______ our technique.
increase.
Imaging thick parts of the body results in ___________ than when we X-ray thinner parts.
More scatter
Thicker body parts require (more or less) technique.
More
The angle of the scatter is greater in
the remnant beam.
A compression paddle can reduce the thickness of pt anatomy & bring the body closer to the IR, and therefore:
Improves spatial resolution.
Reasons to restrict the X-ray beam:
Only the part being examined should be exposed and large X-ray fields result in more scatter radiation.
Types of beam-restricting devices:
Aperture diaphragm
Cones
Cylinders
Collimators
An aperture diaphragm is:
a lead or lead-lined diaphragm with hole in it attached to the X-ray tube. IR receives an image 1 cm smaller on all sides than IR.
Disadvantages of aperture diaphragm:
Projected field size is not adjustable
Edges of image are blurry (penumbra)
Penumbra is reduced when beam restrictor is ______________ from the tube port.
further away
The further the beam restrictor from the port:
the sharper the edges of the exposed area.
Cones and cylinders are:
extended metal structures which constricts the useful beam to appropriate size.
Distal end of cones and cylinders determine:
field size.
Cones and cylinders attach how?
to the slots in the bottom of the collimator.
Disadvantages of cones:
If angle of cone is greater than divergent angle of primary beam then beam is not being restricted. Also, when cone and IR are not aligned, one side of radiograph may not be exposed (cone cutting).
Formula to determine field size:
SID x lower diameter of opening divided by distance from focal spot to bottom of aperture or cone.
The most common beam-restricting device is:
the collimator box
When X-rays are produced at a spot on the anode other than the focal spot, it is referred to as:
off-focus radiation.
Collimators are used to reduce the amount of
off-focus radiation.
Off–focus radiation results in images similar to
shadows of pt, beyond the exposed field of radiation.
Collimators consist of:
First stage entrance shutters, light and mirror, and second stage cross shutters.
Two sets of adjustable shutters within the collimator controls:
(top set:) off focus radiation and (bottom set:) penumbra.
Collimator lamp & mirror must be adjusted so that projected light coincides with X-ray beam or what may happen?
Collimator cutoff of anatomic structures may occur.
Collimator box is marked according to field size at:
fixed SID.
PBL devices
Positive beam limiting devices.
What are positive beam limiting devices?
Automatically cones down to appropriate field size.
Manual collimation is still necessary with PBL in order to:
more tightly cone down image and in doing so, reducing pt exposure & improving image quality.
PBL was mandated by:
US FDA in 1974
The X-ray beam should never exceed the size of:
the IR.
Additional collimator filtration may be necessary depending on:
tube potential.
Which thickness of filters are most common?
0, 1, 2 and 3mm of Al are most common.
Mammography does not have collimators because:
they result in increased filtration of X-ray beam. A special aperture is utilized and an exposure cannot be taken without the special aperture.
Ancillary devices:
Lead blocker
Lead mask
Lead blockers are helpful when
examining large patients…they absorb scatter. Used mostly for L5-S1 vertebral exams and for AP projection of shoulder.
Lead masks:
Used in cerebral angiography, are cut to correspond to particular field size and are secured to end of the collimator.
What is a grid?
Device for reducing scatter that takes over where beam restricting devices stop.
What does scatter do to the image?
Reduces image contrast & contrast resolution.
What is contrast resolution?
The ability to image adjacent similar tissues or the degree of difference in OD between areas of an image.
What is one of the most important characteristics of film quality?
Contrast
As kVp is lowered, scatter is reduced due to:
Enhanced differential absorption
What is differential absorption?
The different degrees of absorption in different types of tissue.
Beam restricting devices are not totally sufficient because:
They are positioned between the X-ray source and patient.
X-rays arriving at the IR consist of both ________ &. _________ X-rays.
Transmitted/scattered
The loss of contrast results from:
The presence of scattered X-rays.
Most of angled scatter are removed by grids thus:
Increasing contrast.
Unlike beam-restricting devices the grid is positioned:
Between the pt and the IR.
Together, beam restricting devices and grids _______ scatter radiation.
Reduce
What does a grid consist of?
Raidopaque material (grid strips) alternating with sections of radiolucent material (interspace material).
Who invented the grid?
Gustave Bucky in 1913
The lead strips in the grid are so thin they are sometimes referred to as:
Lead foil strips.
The material used in interspace of the grid can be:
Plastic or aluminum.
The surface of the grid is called:
The face of the grid.
A line called the center line is usually drawn on the face of the grid to inform the RT:
The direction of the grid line.
Using the grid in the wrong direction will result in:
improper exposure
The interspace material is made of either:
Aluminum or plastic fiber.
The interspace material should be radiolucent so as not to:
absorb the X-ray beam.
The purpose of the interspace material is to:
maintain a precise separation between the delicate lead strips.
Plastic is the preferred material for interspace material for grids because:
aluminum has a higher atomic number and therefore absorbs some of the primary beam, increasing pt dose.
Lead is the most widely used material for grid strips due to:
high atomic number and high mass density. It is also easy to shape and is inexpensive.
The strips and interspaces are bound together and covered by aluminum or plastic to:
give the grid strength & seal out moisture.
The grid is made to match the size of the cassette. True or false?
True.
Information about a grid’s construction is contained:
on a label placed on the tube side of the grid.
The information about a grid’s construction consists of:
type of interspace material
grid frequency and ratio
grid size and range of SIDs that can be used.
If the primary photons and the grid are aligned:
the primary photons will pass through the grid.
Scattered radiation travels in a changed direction and more likely to be:
absorbed by the lead strips of the grid.