L3 Projection Radiography Flashcards
Describe the basic setup for Projection Radiography
A general overview of Projection Radiography
A general overview of Projection Radiography
- The most commonly used method of medical imaging utilizing X-ray.
- Projection of a 3D-volume onto a 2D surface (3D -> 2D).
- Represents the transmitted X-ray beam through the patient, weighted by the integrated loss of beam energy due to scattering and absorption in the body.
- Also known as Conventional Radiography
Another name for Conventional Radiography
Projection Radiography
Name some advantages with Projection Radiography
Advantages with Projection Radiography
- Short exposure time (0.1second)
- Production of large area image (14 x 17 inch)
- Low cost
- Low radiation exposure
- Excellent contrast and spatial resolution
Name a limitation with Projection Radiography
Limitation with Projection Radiography
Lack of depth resolution- superimpositions of shadows from overlying and underlying tissues sometimes “hide” important lesions, which limits contrast.
What would you check with a Chest X-ray?
Chest X-ray
- Airways
- Breast shadows
- Bones, e.g. rib fractures
- Cardiac enlargement
- Diaphragm (evidence of free air)
- Extrathoracic tissues (thorax)
What has higher X-ray attenuation - bone or soft tissue?
Bon has higher X-ray attenuation than soft tissue.
What do you observe with an abdominal X-ray?
Abdominal X-ray
- Covers liver, spleen, stomach, intestines, pancreas, kidneys and bladder
- Bowel obstructions (intestinal obstruction), volvulus and malrotations
- Renal, urethral and bladder stones
Explain Angiography
Vascular Imaging (Angiography)
- Inject Iodine-based contrast agent to study the compromised blood flow
- Mainly brain and heart
Explain Mammography.
Mammography
- Each breast is compressed horizontally (stable, avoid motion artifacts)
- X-ray is then illuminated and image is taken on the film plate.
- Around 10% of False Alarm rate.
Explain the principle of generating X-rays in the X-ray Tube
X-ray Tube
What kind of X-rays does the X-ray Tube generates?
X-ray Tube
Generates both Characteristic and Bremsstrahlung X-ray
What is the Energy efficiency of the X-ray Tube and how is this dealt with to avoid melt down?
Energy efficiency of the X-ray Tube
- 1% of energy is transferred to x-ray
- 99% of energy is dissipated as heat during the bombardment
- As a result, the anode is set into rotation to avoid melting the anode target (rotates 3200 - 3600rpm).
What is the purpose of Beam Hardening?
Purpose of Beam Hardening
Beam hardening = increasing the beam’s ”effective energy”
Explain Beam Hardening
Filtering - Beam Hardening
- Undesirable for low-energy photons to enter the body (almost entirely absorbed within the body – high dose, no contribution to the image)
- Filter low energy photons by
- Anode absorbs LE photons
- X-tube glass/oil housing
- Extra aluminium filter
Explain Beam Restriction
Beam Restriction
- X-rays that exit from the tube form a cone that is ordinarily much larger than the desired body region to be imaged.
- The exiting beam must be further restricted
- To avoid exposing body parts of the patient that need not to be imaged
- To help reducing the effect of Compton scatter
Explain Diaphragms and Collimator
Beam Restriction - Diaphragms and Collimator
Name some different Compensation Filters
Compensation Filters
Explain Scatter Reduction
Scatter Reduction
- X-ray that are not absorbed by the body will arrive at the detector from the line segment originate from the x-ray source
- If the photon is scattered, it will still reach the detector, which will reduce the contrast of the image.
- Three methods
- Grid
- Air gaps
- Scanning Slits (in front of patient)
Name three methods for Scatter Reduction
Three methods for Scatter Reduction
- Grid
- Air gaps
- Scanning Slits (in front of patient)