Fluoroscopy Flashcards
T/F?
The image intensifiers are surrounded by oil.
False
It is an evacuated glass or ceramic envelope that is itself surrounded by a metal housing.
What is the function of metal housing in II?
To prevent light from getting into the tube and of shielding the device from the effects of magnetic fields.
What are the components of an II? (3)
- input screen
- electron focusing electrodes
- output screen
what is the shape of the input screen?
The input screen is curved with the radius of curvature being approx equal to the distance from the screen to the focal point of the electron beam.
What are the two components of the input screens?
on the outer ( x ray beam side) is the input phosphor layer laid down on a thin metal layer.
On the inner side of the screen there is a thin coating of a material that acts as a photocathode
What is a photocathode?
This is a material that emits electrons when irradiated by light.
Name a common photocathode?
antimony caesium- SbCs3
T/F?
The intensity of light produced in the phosphor and the number of electrons produced in the photocathode are indirectly proportional to intensity of x ray photons.
False
The intensity of light produced in the phosphor and the number of electrons produced in the photocathode are DIRECTLY proportional to intensity of x ray photons.
In II what is the phosphor layer? and why?
Caesium iodide because of its absorption efficiency.
what is the k edge of Caesium and iodide
Caesium= 36 KeV
Iodine= 33 KeV
They fall just below the peak of bremsstrahlung used for clinical situation.
How thick is the phosphor layer?
0.1-0.4 mm thick.
It detects about 60% of incoming X ray photons.
What is the structure of caesium iodide?
It has a crystalline structure, the input ph can be manufactured so that the narrow needle like crystals are laid down perpendicular to the screen.
T/F?
A thicker ph layer causes unsharpness
True
Light produced in the crystals is internally reflected.
this minimises by spread of light in the ph layer.
T/F?
The input screen is maintained as a low negative voltage with respect to the anode.
False
The input screen is maintained as a HIGH negative voltage with respect to the anode.
what is the potential difference ?
about 25 kV
What is the purpose of the potential dfference?
This is so that the electrons generated in the photocathode are accelerated within the vacuum towards the anode and the output screen.
what is the size of the input screen?
when would you use the small vs large size?
150-400 mm in diameter.
smallest size may be used for applications such as fracture fixation in orthopaedic
the largest size are suitable for angio and interventional Radiology.
What input screen size would you use for barium contrast studies for GI?
350mm
T/F?
The input screen is usually bigger than the output screen
True
what is the size of output screen?
25-35 mm
what is the ph layer made of in output screen?
zinc cadmium sulphide- ZnCdS:Ag, to convert the pattern of electron intensities into light.
why is the inner part of the screen covered?
because it is so thin, there is very little light spread in the screen. because the screen gives out light in all direction including backwards the inner part of the screen has to be covered.
what would happen if the inner part of the screen is not covered?
light from the screen would be detected by the photocathode causing a cascade of electron emission that would completely white out the image.
what is the screen covered with?
its covered with an extremely thin coating of Al- 0.5 microm- to prevent whitening out.
This Al coat also acts as the anode.
T/F?
There is a direct relationship between the brightness displayed on the output screen and intensity of x ray photons falling on the input phosphor.
True
ie doubling X-ray exposure doubles the light output.
what is the focusing electrodes?
these are metal rings within the tube that are held at +ve voltages with respect to the photocathode.
They act as an electron lens.
Define gain;
this is the ratio of the brightness of the output ph to that of the input ph.
what two factors are responsible for gain?
- Flux gain
2. Minification gain
what is flux gain?
a single light photon produced in the input ph causes a single e to be emitted from the photocathode.
following acceleration to about 25 keV by the focusing field in the intensifier, each e causes many light photons to be emitted from the output phosphor.
This is described as flux gain and is typically about 50.
what is minification gain?
this is the term used to describe the intensification caused by reducing the image size from the input to output screen.
It is equal to the ratio of the two screens.
T/F?
Gain is a measurable quantity.
False
Gain is NOT a measurable quantity.
What is the conversion factor-Gx?
this is defined as the ratio of the brightness (luminance) of the output phosphor (candela/m2) and the dose rate of at the input surface of the II.
what are the typical values for conversion factor?
what is the unit of the conversion factor?
25-30 Cd/m2
why would gain and conversion factor deteriorates with time?
because of the loss in the detection efficiency of the phosphor.
T/F?
the image in the output ph is a magnified version of the image from the full area of the input screen.
False
the image in the output ph is a MINIFIED version of the image from the full area of the input screen.
The original TV system , used a ……… between the output screen of the image intensifier and the camera tube.
lens
what are the functions of the computer in Digital fluoroscopy?
- image storage
- post processing funtions,including noise reduction, edge enhancement, black and white reversal.
- geometrical inversion
- mapping to display look up table to max contrst
What is the input screen of CCD camera made of?
The input screen of a CCD camera is a thin layer of amorphous silicon that is divided into individual pixel- 1024x 1024