Diagnostic Imaging and Applications in RTT part 1 Flashcards
What are the five types of photon interactions?
Rayleigh, compton scattering, photoelectric effect, pair production, and photodisintegration
This type of photon interaction is where the incident photon excites the whole atom which emits a photon with the same energy as the incident photon but in a slightly different direction. No energy is transferred.
It also accounts for less than 5% of interactions at diagnostic energies.
Rayleigh (coherent or classical) scattering
Rayleigh scattering is very probable in high atomic number materials with photons of what kind of energy?
low energy (15-30keV)
This type of photon interaction is where the photon interacts with an atomic valence electron (free/loosely bound), which receives energy from the photon and is emitted at an angle. The photon is scattered with reduced energy.
Compton scattering
Compton scattering is the main interaction in what energy range?
diagnostic (between 30keV and 30MeV)
With Compton interactions, the conservation of energy and momentum allows us to figure out:
what the energy of the scattered photon and ejected electron is
The probability of compton interaction decreases with increasing _______ ______
photon energy
The probability of compton interactions increases with increasing _______ _______
electron density (this causes more free electrons to interact with)
The probability of compton interaction is nearly independent of atomic number (z) because the number of free electrons is what matters.
Compton interaction happen more frequently with high _______ content.
hydrogen
This type of photon interaction is where an incoming photon transfers all its energy to an inner shell electron of an atom of the absorbing medium. The electron is ejected, leaving a vacancy (KEpe=hv-Ebe). This causes an electron cascade where the vacancy is filled.
Photoelectric Effect
In photoelectric effect, this is when an inner shell vacancy is filled by higher energy electrons, producing characteristic x-rays and Auger electrons
Electron cascade
Photoelectric effect is common when the energy of the incident photon is slightly greater than the _______ ______ of electron.
binding energy (10-100keV)
Higher Z material and lower photon energy means higher probability of photoelectric effect. The probability of photoelectric effect is
Z^3/E^3
where z is atomic number of absorbing material and E is energy of incident photon
What are the radiographic consequences of the photoelectric effect?
The probability is proportional to Z^3 so between bone and tissue, the absorption in bone is more. Thus, the contrast between bone and tissue in radiographs should increase at lower kV, but at lower kV, patient dose increases since photoelectric effect results in total absorption of incoming photon
With this photon interaction, the photon interacts strongly with electric field of nucleus and gives up all energy in process of creating a pair of particles: a negative electron and positive electron (positron). Most probable distribution is each particle acquires half available kinetic energy although any energy distribution is possible.
Pair production
What must the incident photon energy be greater than in pair production?
1.022MeV
This photon interaction occurs at very high energies that actually allow photons to eject neutrons from the nucleus. This is responsible for neutron contamination therapy beams of greater energy than 10MV.
Photodisintegration
As the thickness, x, of the attenuation increases, transmission falls very quickly (exponentially). I(x)=Ioe^-ux
where u is the linear attenuation coefficient and Io is the number of photons
Exponential Attenuation
The fraction of photons removed from a monoenergetic beam of x-rays or gamma rays per unit thickness is the
linear attenuation coefficient
The linear attenuation coefficient is dependent upon
incoming photon energy
z of the attenuator
density of the attenuator
A larger attenuation coefficient number indicates that ____ photons will be removed from the beam. Z is normally close to the same for various tissues, but density is not. So there is another way of writing the attenuation coefficient that takes out the density variability
more
This occurs when the primary electron interacts with positively charged nucleus. The particle’s trajectory is altered, causing deceleration. The particle’s deceleration results in release of an x-ray of varying energy.
Bremsstrahlung
Imaging technique that synthesizes images from digitized data using a computer
computed
Imaging technique that generates cross sectional images or slices of a 3D object
Tomography
The detector in a CT unit does not form the image. The patient is scanned with a narrow x-ray beam. The transmitted radiation along the ray is measured. ______ takes the data and reconstructs it.
computer
In CT, this is a circle in the x-y plane but can extend along the x-axis thus creating a cylindrical FOV
Scanner field of view
In CT, this is the data collected at a specific angle of interrogation of the object. This is also a collection of rays
projection
In CT, these are the individual attenuation measurements that correspond to a line through the object
Rays
All rays in a projection parallel to one another
Parallel beam projection
Rays at a given projection angle diverge
Fan beam projection
Uses both a fan and cone angle
cone beam projection
Basics of CT: The 2D CT image corresponds to a 3D section of the patient. The CT slice thickness is very thin (1 to 10mm) and is approximately uniform
The 2D array of pixels in the CT image corresponds to an equal number of 3D voxels (volume elements) in the patient. Each pixel on the CT image displays the average x-ray attenuation properties of the tissue in the corresponding voxel.